Church fed feces to believers for 'faith training'... Police "Under investigation"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Police have launched an investigation into a church in Seoul suspected of forcing its congregants to eat feces and other harsh acts under the pretext of faith training.

According to the police on the 6th, the Dongdaemun Police Station in Seoul is investigating officials of Bitgwa Jinri Church on charges of inflicting harsh treatment on church members and failing to provide timely medical care to those who collapsed during the process (including professional negligence causing injury). The police completed questioning the complainant's representative on the 4th. The Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office, which first received the complaint, directed the Dongdaemun Police Station to conduct the investigation on the 10th of last month.

Earlier, a member of this church filed a complaint against church officials, stating that in October 2018, while undergoing a "staying awake endurance" training under the name of faith training, they suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and were diagnosed with a first-degree disability.

In connection with this, about 20 former members of the church and civic groups held a press conference the day before, demanding "punishment for the senior pastor who committed a form of 'grooming crime' and the forced dissolution of the church." According to them, Bitgwa Jinri Church regularly demanded sadistic acts from its members under the guise of leadership training, such as eating their own feces, taking turns being beaten, enduring in a kiln, and praying in a cemetery to build courage.

In response, Bitgwa Jinri Church issued a statement saying, "We sincerely apologize to all those who were hurt and in pain," and added, "We deeply regret the situation of the sister who is currently hospitalized and will find ways to provide maximum assistance."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.