Editing Victory Altar (section)

=== Founding ===
According to ''[[The Hankyoreh]]'', the group's website says that Cho originally attended a [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] church in [[Gimpo]].<ref name=":2" /> He was eventually taken prisoner by the [[Korean People's Army|North Korean People's Army]] during the [[Korean War]]. After his release, he committed himself further to religion and decided to attend the [[Daehan Theological University|Daehan Theological Seminary & University]]. Afterwards, he served as an officer in the [[Republic of Korea Armed Forces|South Korean Armed Forces]] and allegedly established seven middle and high schools and several churches. Cho suffered from lung and ear diseases, but was allegedly miraculously cured after meeting Park Tae Son, the founding leader of the [[Olive Tree (religious movement)|Olive Tree religious movement]]. Following this, on October 15, 1980, he claimed to have completely eliminated evil in himself and claimed to have begun a movement to save humanity.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=조 |first=현 |date=2021-02-10 |title=부천 집단감염 진원지 '영생교'…15명 '집단 암매장' 전력 |trans-title=The Epicenter of Mass Infection in Bucheon, 'Yeongsaenggyo'... History of the Secret Burial of 15 People |url=https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/religious/982611.html |access-date=2023-07-08 |website=[[The Hankyoreh]] |language=ko}}</ref><ref name=":2" />

The group was founded and led by Cho in 1981 in Bucheon, Gyeonggi as "Yeongsaeng-gyo The Lord's Crusade Victory Altar" ({{Korean|hangul=영생교 하나님의 성회 승리제단|labels=no}}).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2021-02-09 |title='20명 집단 감염' 승리제단, 어떤 곳? 1981년 창설 영생교…"정부 방침 따랐다" |trans-title=What Kind of Place is Victory Altar, Where '20 People Were Infected'? Established in 1981 as Yeongsaenggyo, It "Followed Government Regulations" |url=https://www.donga.com/news/Culture/article/all/20210209/105362074/1 |access-date=2023-07-08 |website=[[The Dong-a Ilbo]] |language=ko}}</ref><ref name=":1" />