The Diplomat: The Cults of South Korea
In April, a passenger ferry carrying South Korean high school students on holiday capsized and sank, killing more than 300 passengers and crew. The government is holding the owners of the ferry company responsible, but so far the big boss is nowhere to be found.
As it turns out, the big boss is also the founder of a cult and many of his followers consider him a messiah.
For more than six weeks, an obscure Christian sect widely described as a cult has dominated the news in South Korea. The reason: its alleged connection to a ferry sinking in April that killed more than 300 people.
Yoo Byung-eun, the founder of the Salvation Sect and alleged de facto owner of the ferry’s operating firm, has become the country’s most wanted man, with the authorities offering a $500,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. He and his family stand accused of corruption, poor management and illegal modifications to the ferry Sewol that prosecutors say contributed to its sinking with hundreds of high school students onboard. Despite a massive manhunt across the country, Yoo has continued to elude capture since a court issued a warrant for his arrest on May 22.
“They (the Salvation Sect) began around the early 1970s. Their doctrine is influenced by the foreign missionaries,” Tark Ji-il, a professor at Busan Presbyterian University and expert on cults in Korea, told The Diplomat. “According to them, they don’t need to repent again and again. We need only one repentance. Right after realization of sin, there is no need to repent again. Because, according to them, righteous man is righteous man, even if they have committed a sin.”
More: The Cults of South Korea
Too bad for the big boss — his idea of “repent once and be forever free” is not shared by law enforcement officials.