Meritorious Service Record

Between February 1939 and November 1941, Augustin Sweeny repeatedly criticized Japanese military atrocities in China in front of his congregation.
He predicted that Japan would lose the war due to prolonged conflict and resource shortages, and he exposed the falsehoods in Japanese military reports about their war efforts.
In February 1941, he told a visitor, Kang Gun-pyeong (康君平):
"The time is approaching when war between Britain and Japan will break out. Japan is currently at war with China, but if this continues for too long, Japan will inevitably be defeated-even if war with Britain and the U.S. does not occur."
In November 1941, he told a church member in Jeju that Britain, the U.S., and the Soviet Union were preparing to surround and attack Japan because Japan had refused to return occupied Chinese territories. He predicted that Japan would be defeated within two years.
In December 1941, Japanese authorities arrested Sweeny. In October 1942, the Gwangju District Court convicted him under the Japanese Army and Navy Criminal Codes and sentenced him to two years in prison.
In 1999, the South Korean government posthumously awarded Augustin Sweeny the Order of Merit for National Foundation (National Medal) in recognition of his contributions to Korea’s independence.