Voice of the Martyrs Korea has learned that Child Evangelism Fellowship-USA (CEF) has been added to the Russian Federation’s list of undesirable organizations. The ruling comes as CEF Korea Missionary Park Tae Yeon faces a possible 17-year sentence in a trial set to begin July 28 in Khabarovsk, according to Voice of the Martyrs Korea.

Voice of the Martyrs Korea says the potential legal risks for CEF workers and CEF-related organizations across the Russian Federation should be considered “quite high”.

“The decision to designate CEF-USA as an undesirable organization in Russia was issued by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office on July 6 and issued as Order of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation No. 1000-r dated July 16, 2026,” says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr Hyun Sook Foley. She says the reason for CEF’s inclusion on the list were not specified in the Order.

“Basically, when an organization is designated undesirable by Russia, it means that participating in the activities of that organization or storing or distributing materials for the organization—even storing one copy of one material, like at a library—can result in criminal charges,” says Representative Foley. “The ‘undesirable organization’ itself is banned from operating its programs, distributing its materials, or creating structures to accomplish its work. Even a single activity on behalf of an undesirable organization—including transferring money to them—can result in a criminal charge.”

Representative Foley says that because the Order includes no details, it is not immediately clear whether the designation applies to other branches of CEF, including CEF Korea.

“Our experience with these cases in Russia is that designations like this are broadly applied, so CEF work and workers from any branch which are currently operating in Russia will likely be adversely affected by this ban,” says Representative Foley. She notes that the list of undesirable Christian organizations is growing rapidly in Russia.

Voice of Martyrs Korea has been advocating for CEF-Korea Missionary Park Tae-Yeon since her arrest in Khabarovsk, Russia in January. Representative Foley says the missionary is scheduled to appear in court on three immigration-related charges beginning July 28 and that the trial is expected to continue until August 10. Missionary Park faces a possible total 17 years in prison, according to Representative Foley.

“While Child Evangelism Fellowship is not mentioned in Missionary Park’s indictment, we have been concerned that the delay in Missionary Park’s trial date may have been due to investigators using the case against Missionary Park as an opportunity to gather information which could potentially be used in other, future legal actions by authorities against CEF-related workers and ministries, including the Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals) of Russia, the denomination which has partnered with Child Evangelism Fellowship organization in Russia for some activities,” she says.

An online petition posted by Voice of the Martyrs Korea from February to April garnered more than 4,000 signatures from Korea, along with more than 1,000 signatures from Russia, Ukraine, the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Africa, Finland, Zimbabwe, Poland, Hungary, Indonesia, Romania, Nigeria, Scotland, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.

In April, Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representatives Dr Hyun Sook Foley and CEO Pastor Eric Foley delivered the petition to the Russian Embassy in Seoul, calling for the missionary’s immediate release. Copies of the petition were also sent to the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

Park Tae Yeon is a Korean missionary who was arrested in Khabarovsk, Russia January 15, one week before she was scheduled to return home to Korea to retire at age 70. Authorities fined the missionary for overstaying her visa, despite the overstay being due to her detainment by Russian authorities.