Feeding his own feces and taking a 100-degree sauna… Korea’s tonsured pastor “allegedly coerced his assistant into believers in training” spectacular education.

Will a ton of pastors be convicted following the first trial?

On March 28, prosecutors in an appeal hearing at the Northern District Court of Seoul sentenced Pastor K, 64, of a Christian religious group to three years in prison for coercion and other charges. The charges he is facing are spectacular.

According to the JoongAng Ilbo, a Korean media outlet, K’s assistant forced his followers to undergo a “training” program to select a leader from among his followers. They made them eat their own feces, walk about 40 km in a short time, and sleep only one hour a day. ……

The prosecution complained that K neglected the extreme practices forced upon him by his assistants. The defense, on the other hand, claims that ‘the participants did this voluntarily. The victims’ organization is protesting, saying, ‘You mean to say you didn’t know about the wrongdoing that has been going on for a long time?

K established the organization around 1995. At its peak, there were about 2,000 followers. The training that was called into question in the trial took place from May ’17 to October ’18, but even before that, it is said, unheard-of situations had been occurring.

A Christian accusation website exposed the practice of coercing believers in April ’20, along with the group’s internal documents. The site contained unbelievable details. They would whip each other in the community cemetery, compete with each other to see how long they could stay awake without sleeping, and go into the garbage can for food scraps.

I heard that some believers were put in a 100-degree sauna and forced to endure for long periods of time. A number of victims from the group suffered serious injuries, brain hemorrhages, and other serious disabilities. The police also launched an investigation and raided about 10 locations, including K’s home and a believer’s lodging house. The group issued a letter of apology, admitting its extreme behavior, and ended up arresting K and his assistant, who had forced him to undergo the intense training.

K has consistently denied the charges in the trial of the religious group. The verdict is scheduled to be handed down on May 30.