Not so holier than thou: religious leader crimes top 5,000 a year

Religious leaders have been in the top three since 2010 among professionals who committed crimes in Korea. / Courtesy of Twitter

By Lee Han-soo

Religious leaders commit over 5,000 crimes a year in Korea, according to Supreme Prosecutors' Office figures.

There were 4,868 cases reported in 2010, increasing to more than 5,000 in 2012 and over 5,100 in 2014.

The crimes range from sexual harassment and scams, to assault, drunk driving and hit-runs.

Compared with other professionals – including doctors, lawyers, professors, journalists and artists -- religious leaders have ranked in the top three for crimes over the past five years.

Experts believe the high crime rate derives from the religious leaders' use of their superior position to exploit followers. They also point out loopholes in the judiciary system that prevents law enforcers from handling such cases.

There have been discussions to strengthen ethic education for religious leaders and introduce laws that will expel or punish them if they commit crimes.

"A religious leader who commits a crime can simply change the name of the religious institute, be it a church or any religious entity, if it was operated like his or her private foundation," Lee Su-jung, a professor in the faculty of Liberal Arts at Kyonggi University, said in an interview with Yonhap news agency.

"Official procedure is needed to punish religious leaders who commit crimes."

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