| Seen is the screen capture of the website of Light & Truth Church. Screen capture of Light & Truth Church |
By Park Ji-won
A pastor and several leaders of a Seoul-based church that is a member of the General Assembly of Presbyterian Church in Korea have come under fire for allegedly abusing believers and forcing them to take part in activities that included eating their own feces, according to the alleged victims.
In a press conference Tuesday, a civic group said several of the church's members were groomed by Pastor Kim Myung-jin and leaders of the Light & Truth Church to perform inhumane and demeaning actions including eating feces and whipping each other as part of a leadership initiation program.
In a press release the members said, "We decided to reveal the pastor's insane and illegal abusive actions against the believers under the name of religious activity…The church forced the believers to take what they called leadership training such as eating one's own feces, getting into a garbage bin full of food waste, whipping other believers, staying inside a sauna longer than was safe and sleep deprivation over a period of days."
They added, "The church has been claiming that the believers voluntarily carried out the training, but considering the hierarchy and the circumstances, we were groomed step by step."
A believer, who insisted not to be named, reportedly said during the conference that "When a group leader of the training ordered me to eat my own excrement, I wasn't able to do it right away. But I ended up posting footage of me eating my own feces after being approved by the leader… I was out of my mind at that time wanting to become a leader and I thought I was doing the right thing. But I realized later I was brainwashed."
The victims also claimed that one of them ended up becoming disabled during the training because officials of the church deliberately delayed calling for medical assistance when she had a brain hemorrhage Oct. 27, 2018 in a bid to hide the group's activities from outsiders.
They also raised suspicions that the pastor and his followers embezzled money from the church for their own interests.
"The pastor, who claimed that he would not take any money from the church, bought real estate and is also suspected of embezzlement by creating a paper company."
They said they reported the pastor and the leaders to the police for assault and "negligence of duties," asking for their punishment and the disbandment of the church.
The revelation came after police started an investigation last month based on the reports from the victims.
The church, meanwhile, apologized for its actions that "hurt the feelings" of church members, but didn't admit that it forced them to "perform abusive actions," pledging to take legal steps to resolve the situation.
"We are sorry about the rage you felt after what happened…. We ask for forgiveness for not expressing enough love to you.
"It is a pity for us to come to a confrontation in court due to our differences. But with the help of experts, we will reveal the truth and resolve this situation to establish a healthier church."