In order to eradicate Deungdaesa members who refused to participate in emperor worship and military activities, Imperial Japan arrested and detained at least 66 individuals in Korea. This series of events occurring between June 1939 and August 1945 is known as the Deungdaesa Incident.
Korean Deungdaesa members who were tried and convicted for their conscientious stand were sentenced to more than four years in prison. Six of them died during their ordeal, including one person who died in Japan.