Covid-19 spread in South Korea, the Sewol ferry sinking, and the deposition of President Park Geun-hye in common were all related to the sect.

The Sewol ferry sinking is the worst disaster in modern Korean history, with the deaths of many, mostly children. On April 16, 2014, the ferry carrying 476 people, including 339 students and teachers, sank while on the way from Incheon to Jeju Island, only 172 survived.

Officials concluded that "an unreasonably sudden turn" caused the ferry to tilt before capsizing and sinking. The ferry carried 3,608 tons of cargo, more than three times the allowable load of 987 tons, which was not properly fixed.

Sewol only carries 580 tons of ballast water (water stored in the tank to keep the ferry stable), much less than the 2,030 tons recommendation, making it easier for the boat to capsize. The crew is believed to have pumped hundreds of tons of ballast water from the bottom of the ship to accommodate additional cargo. Improving the ferry to have more cabins for passengers is also one of the causes of the disaster.

On May 15, 2014, the captain and three crew members were charged with murder, 11 others were indicted for deliberately neglecting passengers and violating safety regulations. Authorities issued arresting businessman Yoo Byung-eun on charges of embezzlement, neglect of responsibility and tax evasion.

Yoo, born in 1941, is the head of the family that owns Chonghaejin Marine, the operator of the Sewol ferry. Yoo was described by the media as the actual owner of the ferry.

In 1962, Yoo founded the Redemptorist sect of about 100,000 members, teaching believers that those who were saved by God will be forgiven of all the sins they committed in the future and will surely go to heaven. Unlike other Christian organizations, this group does not advise believers to repent for their wrongdoings and this is one of the reasons why the group is considered by her to be a heresy.

Yoo Byung-eun mainly lives in a cult house called Geumsuwon in Gyeonggi Province, 80 km south of Seoul. Yoo has a photography studio here and takes pictures every day. He is believed to have taken about 2.7 million photographs since 2009, all from a window. The sectarian members use the Geumsuwon house area of 760,000 m2 as a place to grow organic vegetables and fish.

On April 23, 2014, investigators raided about 20 offices, branches of Chonghaejin and the Salvationist office in Seoul. Prosecutors said the money from sectarian members was used in the business of Chonghaejin and Yoo Byung-eun. The prosecutor found more than 100 ghost companies founded by sect members paid Yoo and his two sons more than $ 97 million in "counseling services" and bought photos of Yoo.

After the sinking of the Sewol ferry, Yoo became the most wanted man in South Korea but officials could not track down his whereabouts. Thousands of police and prosecutors raided Geumsuwon several times but could not find him and encountered resistance from followers.

On April 28, 2014, 600 followers protested in front of KBS headquarters in Seoul to protest the coverage of the sect's relationship with the ferry operator Sewol. Prosecutors warned on May 24, 2014 that anyone who helped Yoo in hiding had to face a three-year prison term.

After four members were arrested on May 25, 2014 for helping Yoo to escape from the police, a cult spokesman said: "We hope Mr. Yoo will not be arrested. 100,000 followers will protect him. "Even if all 100,000 followers were arrested, we would not hand him over."

On June 12, 2014, a heavily decomposed body was found in a plum garden in Suncheon. Next to the body are three bottles of soju, a bottle of shark liver oil made by one of Yoo's companies with a book from him. Six weeks later, the police confirmed the body was Yoo but did not conclude whether he was murdered or committed suicide.

The delayed and weak treatment of President Park Geun-hye's administration during the Sewol ferry disaster angered the Korean public, opening the way for her long political career. In March 2017, Park was deposed and sentenced to 32 years in prison on charges of accepting bribes, exercising power, coercion, causing loss of state budget and intervening in 2016 parliamentary elections.

One of the things that made Korean public the most outrageous is that Ms. Park was "pulled" by Choi Choi-min and Choi Soon-sil. Choi Tae-min, born in 1912, founded the Eternal Life sect in the early 1970s, incorporating Korean Buddhist, Christian and Shamanic elements. He used 7 names, got married 6 times and identified himself as Maitreya.

Choi Tae-min befriends Park Geun-hye, who is 40 years younger than him, shortly after Park's mother was assassinated in 1974. According to a Korean Intelligence Agency report, Choi told Park that her mother her grandmother appeared in his dream and asked him to help her.

He became an advisor to Ms. Park, helping her run a pro-government volunteer group called the Movement for New Ideas. His daughter, Choi Soon-sil, is a young leader in this group. Choi Tae-min died in 1994 at the age of 82.

Choi is often compared to Grigori Rasputin - the "monk" who is said to manipulate Tsar Nicholas the Second, the last emperor in Russian history. The South Korean Intelligence Agency said he was "a fake spiritual adviser", taking advantage of his relationship with Ms. Park to extort bribes from government officials and businessmen.

South Korean President Park Chung-hee, Park Geun-hye's father, was assassinated in 1979 by South Korean Intelligence Director Kim Jae-gyu. Kim testified in court that one of the reasons he killed Park Chung -hee because he didn't stop Choi Tae-min's corrupt activities and didn't keep his daughter away from Choi.

Ms. Park once said that her father once questioned her and Choi Tae-min about corruption allegations but found nothing wrong. In a 2007 interview, Park Geun-hye called Choi Tae-min a patriot and she was very grateful for his words of comfort and advice during difficult times.

In a 2007 diplomatic telegram published by Wikileaks, the US embassy in Seoul said there were rumors that Choi Tae-min "had complete control of Ms. Park during her years of career development and development. her, "whereby Choi Tae-min's children have accumulated a lot of wealth.

After Choi Tae-min died, his daughter, Choi Soon-sil, took over Park's mental adviser position. Although just an ordinary citizen without access to confidential information, Ms. Choi is allowed to edit some of the president's keynote speeches. She even is in charge of Park Geun-hye's clothing, advising which color to wear on specific days.

Lee Seong-han, a former employee of Ms. Choi's charity fund, said that Ms. Choi watches the reports sent to Ms. Park every day. Choi has his own advisory team ready to intervene in important government decisions, including the appointment of cabinet ministers and the closure of the Kaesong inter-Korean industrial zone after North Korea conducted its nuclear test. January 2016.

"In fact, Ms. Choi instructed the President to do this and that. There is nothing the President decides on his own," Lee Seong-han said.

Choi was accused of using her relationship with Ms. Park to force businesses to donate $ 69 million to their two charities. She also took advantage of the privilege of sending her daughter to Ewha Womans University and allowing her to learn horse racing. In February 2018, Choi was sentenced to 20 years in prison, fined $ 16.6 million on charges of abusing power, bribing and interfering in government activities.

The New Heavenly sect is the focus of attention in Covid-19 because about 60% of infections in Korea are related to this organization. 61-year-old Xin Tian-believers, known as "Patient No. 31," spread the virus at church services in Daegu. South Korea recorded more than 5,600 cases and more than 30 deaths.

Tan Thien Dia, founded in 1931 in North Gyeongsang Province by Lee Man-hee, was founded in 1984. Lee claimed to be the "prophet" who saw God "appear brightly before his eyes" and convinced believers to believe. that he is immortal. Lee asserts that he alone can explain the Bible and is able to save 144,000 people on Judgment Day by taking them to heaven. The New Heavenly Yard was considered by her to be a heresy church in Korea.

Former member Lee Ho-yeon said a number of sectarian rules made members particularly vulnerable to infection. Believers sit very close to each other, sing hymns aloud and are not allowed to wear glasses or masks when performing the ceremony. "We were taught not to be afraid of disease," she said. "We were taught not to care about mundane things like work, ambition or passion. Everything is focused on recruiting more members, even when we are sick."

Seoul city authorities are asking prosecutors to investigate Mr. Lee and the other 11 top leaders of New Heaven on murder and other criminal charges. At a press conference on March 2, Lee dropped to his knees in apology and pledged to support the government to prevent the epidemic. On March 3, the denomination gave officials a complete list of 310,000 members, including 245,000 members and 65,000 who are being trained to become members.

Tark Ji-il, a professor at Busan Elder University, said that what Lee needed to do was not apologize to the public but to ask believers to cooperate with the government. The cardinal's repentant attitude may only be a deliberate arrangement and cause even more Tan Thien Dia followers to hide.

"For them, Lee Man-hee bowing to the world drew a picture that the New Heaven is being mistreated. This will only strengthen the basis for his followers," Tark said. In February, Tan Thien Dia spokesman said the group was a victim and called on people not to hate.

Tark estimates that there are about 100 heresies in Korea and most of the cult originated from the desire to ease the pain of the Korean people during a difficult period like the Japanese imperialist occupation of the Korean peninsula in 1910-1945. , The Korean War 1950-1953 and the period of totalitarian rule before the democracy movement in the late 1980s.

"The orthodox church talks about a kingdom in heaven, but the heretics promise a kingdom on earth. They say the end of the world is coming," Tark said.

Experts say that heresies that exploited nationalism and patriotism flared up when the Korean peninsula was liberated from Japanese rule at the end of World War II. "The cardinals proclaimed the Lord to be reincarnated as a Korean, most of the saved will be Korean. This is very appealing to those who have gone through so many difficulties in modern Korean history," he said.