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Sat, June 25, 2022 | 08:28
Pastor killed his children by starving and beating them
'잡귀 쫓아라' 부모가 삼남매 매질로 굶기고 매질... 충격
Posted : 2012-02-14 17:02
Updated : 2012-02-14 17:02
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By Kwon E-youn

A tragedy occurred in Boseonge, South Jeolla Province, when a pastor and his wife three of their children, who had the flu, to death under the pretext of “expelling evil spirits” based on the Bible.

They were arrested by police following a tip off from a relative, while praying and fasting in an alleged attempt to revive the three.

The couple were identified as a 43-year-old pastor, Park, and his 34-year-old.

Police said the couple, who were running a small church in the town of Boseong, took their four children ­ a 10-year-old girl, an 8-year-old boy, a 5-year-old boy, and a 1-year-old baby girl ­ to a nearby children´s hospital in Hwasun County, after they developed flu symptoms on Jan. 16. They made two younger children take the prescribed medicine, while the two elder ones were made to take medicine at home.

But as their symptoms did not improve, the couple stopped providing food and medicine to the children on Jan. 23. Instead, starting Feb. 1, they made them fast, never allowing them to go outside. The husband and wife prayed without eating every other day in their children’s room.

Police investigators found that the couple beat the children, who were very feeble due to fasting, from Feb. 1 to expel evil spirits out of their body. The unreasonable practice came according to the passage of the Bible saying, “Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death,” in Proverbs (23:13-14).

They whipped their kids 39 times each with a belt and fly swatter. The beating continued for four times for two days, according to police.

The eldest son died at 10 p.m., Feb. 1. The eldest daughter and the younger son died early the next morning.

They concealed the death of the three children, just praying and fasting in an attempt to revive them. The couple held a religious service at the chapel with the children in a locked room on Feb. 5. Some believers asked about the bad smell from the dead bodies, but the couple explained it came from waste food.

The shocking incident came to light after a 53-year-old uncle dropped by the church to see his nephews and nieces on Feb 11. “When I entered the room, my brother-in-law got angry and said that he could revive his children with prayers and fasting. But I was disturbing him,” he told investigators.

The pastor leased a one-story building for 200,000 won a month, in March 2009, when he moved there from Jindo in the same province. The church has about 10 believers.

The writer is a Korea Times intern.

'잡귀 쫓아라' 부모가 삼남매 매질로 굶기고 매질... 충격
전남 보성의 한 교회 목사 부부가 감기에 걸린 자녀 3명을 "잡귀를 쫓는다"며 성경 구절에 나오는 자녀 훈육 방식으로 매질했다가 자녀들이 모두 숨지는 충격적인 사건이 발생했다. 이 부부는 자녀들이 숨지자 "아이들을 환생시키겠다"며 자녀들의 시신 곁에서 10일 간 금식기도를 하다 이를 발견한 친척의 신고로 경찰에 붙잡혔다. 보성읍에서 198㎡ 규모의 교회를 운영하는 목사 박모(43)씨와 부인 조모(34)씨는 지난달 16일 큰딸(10)과 큰아들(8), 둘째아들(5), 막내딸(1) 등 자녀 4명이 감기 증세를 보이자 인근 화순군의 한 소아과로 데려가 진료를 받았다. 박씨 부부는 둘째아들과 막내딸만 1주일치 약을 처방 받아 먹였고, 큰딸과 큰아들은 집에 있던 종합감기약을 먹였다. 박씨 부부는 그러나 자녀들의 감기 증세가 호전되지 않자 지난달 23일부터 치료를 중단하고 "금식기도로 치료하겠다"며 자녀들의 바깥 출입을 막고 줄곧 금식을 시켰다. 박씨 부부도 13㎡ 남짓한 자녀방에서 격일 금식기도를 했다. 경찰 조사 결과 박씨 부부는 음식을 먹지 못해 기운이 없는 자녀들에게 지난 1일부터 매를 들었다. "몸에 잡귀가 붙어있으니 이를 몰아내야 한다"는 것이 이유였다. 박씨 부부는 성경에 나오는 '아이를 훈육하지 아니하려고 하지 말라 채찍으로 그를 때릴지라도 그가 죽지 아니하리라'(잠언 23장 13~14절), '유대인들에게 40에서 하나 감한 매를 다섯 번 맞았으며'(고린도후서 11장 24절)라는 구절을 따랐다고 경찰에서 진술했다. 박씨 부부는 이틀에 걸쳐 허리띠와 파리채로 자녀들을 각각 39대씩 모두 4번을 폭행했다. 큰아들은 지난 1일 오후 10시쯤 숨졌고, 큰딸과 둘째아들은 이튿날 오전 5시와 7시쯤 잇따라 숨을 거뒀다. 이들은 삼남매가 숨진 사실을 주위에 숨긴 채 장례도 치르지 않고 시신 곁에서 "아이들을 부활시키겠다"며 매일 금식기도를 했다. 지난 5일에는 자녀방 문을 잠그고 예배당에서 신도들과 함께 주일예배도 본 것으로 밝혀졌다. 신도들이 시신이 부패해 생긴 악취에 대해 묻자 "음식물 냄새"라고 말했다. 아이들의 사망 사실은 고모부 이모(53)씨가 지난 11일 오전 9시50분쯤 조카들을 보기 위해 교회에 갔다 잠겨 있는 자녀방 창문을 열고 들어가 시신을 발견하면서 알려졌다. 이씨는 경찰에서 "숨진 조카들 곁에서 기도를 하고 있던 박씨가 '금식기도를 하면 아이들을 살릴 수 있는데 왜 잡귀들이 와서 간섭하느냐'고 화를 냈다"고 말했다. 박씨는 2009년 3월 전남 진도에서 보성으로 이사 와 월세 20만원에 단층 기와구조 건물을 빌려 교회를 세우고 전도활동을 해왔으며, 신도 수는 10여 명인 것으로 알려졌다.
 
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