Pastor Steals Money from Disabled Person and Imprisons Them... Assault Leads to Lower Body Paralysis

Assault for Reasons Such as 'Inability to Control Bowel Movements'
Extorting Tens of Millions of Won While Housing and Feeding 6 Disabled People

A pastor at a church in Cheongju, Chungbuk, was arrested by the police on charges of bringing disabled individuals to his church under the pretense of caring for them, then assaulting them and extorting money.

The Cheongju Sangdang Police Station announced on the 26th that Pastor A (60) was detained on charges of robbery, injury, and aggravated confinement.

Church exterior. Photo source=Captured from Naver Map, Yonhap News Agency

A is accused of confining B (in his 50s), a person with severe intellectual disabilities, in a pavilion within the church grounds equipped with iron bars and assaulting him with a metal pipe for about 14 months starting from July 2021.

According to the police investigation, A met B in early 2020 while working in pastoral care at a nursing hospital and brought B to the church, promising to take good care of him. However, A frequently assaulted B, citing B’s inability to control his bodily functions, and installed iron bars on the pavilion to imprison him.

A also forced B to sit on a portable toilet without wearing lower garments for extended periods and assaulted him for reasons such as defecating elsewhere or not eating food quickly. When A went out, he hid the imprisoned B by hanging blankets over the iron bars. B was only released during weekend worship services when non-disabled church members visited.

Appearance at the time of escape in September 2022. Photo provided by the victim, Yonhap News Agency

B was discovered in September 2022 by C, an acquaintance who came to the church. C protested to Pastor A at the scene, which eventually led to the door being opened. At the time of discovery, B’s entire body was covered with bruises. Currently, B is partially paralyzed in the lower body and is living in a nursing hospital.

Investigations revealed that A also embezzled the 800,000 won monthly basic living allowance that B received. Furthermore, on January 4th, A is accused of taking a check card and about 200,000 won in cash from D (in his 60s), a brain-disabled person living in a container on the church premises, and assaulting D when he resisted. D is also living in a nursing hospital due to severe back injuries.

This series of crimes came to light after D filed a complaint with the police in January with the help of the Chungbuk Disabled Rights Advocacy Agency. The investigation expanded after B’s case was uncovered.

A reportedly told the police that he embezzled the basic living allowances and caregiving benefits of B, D, and others because "he had no living expenses."

The police are also verifying facts after receiving a complaint from a disability organization alleging that A embezzled tens of millions of won from another intellectually disabled couple living in a vinyl greenhouse on the church grounds and assaulted them multiple times for reasons including insufficient offerings.

Meanwhile, it is known that six disabled individuals lived and ate at this church, where A has served as pastor since 2014, until recently.

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