Police Raid Church That Forced Congregants to Eat Feces as 'Faith Training'

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Police are conducting a search and seizure of a church in Seoul to verify allegations that the church forced its congregants to eat feces and subjected them to harsh treatment under the pretext of faith training.

The Dongdaemun Police Station in Seoul announced that from 8 a.m. on the 12th, they have been carrying out a search and seizure of the office and dormitory of the Bitgwa Jinri Church located in Dongdaemun-gu.

Earlier, a congregant of this church filed a complaint against church officials, stating that in October 2018, while undergoing a "staying awake without sleeping" training under the name of faith training, they collapsed due to a cerebral hemorrhage and were diagnosed with a first-degree disability.

In relation to this, former congregants of the church also revealed that the church regularly demanded sadistic acts under the guise of leadership training, such as eating one's own feces, taking turns being beaten, enduring in a kiln, and praying in a cemetery to build courage.

As the controversy escalated, 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 bedridden and will find ways to provide maximum assistance."

The police plan to accurately ascertain the facts regarding the church's faith training based on the materials seized during the search and seizure.

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