TV show unveils truth about 'faith healer' pastor
A scene captured from MBC's “PD Notebook”
By Park Jin-hai
A local investigative TV show has revisited the case surrounding megachurch pastor Lee Jae-rock, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison last November for raping and sexually harassing at least eight female congregants.
MBC's PD Notebook, aired a segment Tuesday which reported that the 75-year-old pastor of Manmin Central Church saw himself as equal to God and looked into allegations raised repeatedly against the pastor involving sexual abuse. This included grooming young victims and forcing them to have sex with him.
In 1999, the same show previously attempted to report the allegations but the Seoul Central District Court accepted the church's filing for an injunction and ruled that MBC should delete parts related to the sexual abuse allegations. During the broadcast, the MBC building was besieged by thousands of Lee's followers, some of whom stormed the TV station and cut off the power.
Tuesday's show aired the deleted 15-minute clip along with other allegations. The show garnered a 5.4 percent viewership, its highest ratings in 11 months.
Manmin Central Church, established by Lee in 1982 in Seoul, gathered a large following after many personal testimonies claimed Lee had healing powers and had cured diseases. It now has over 130,000 members.
Video clips showed the inside of the church, which sold Lee's photos and handkerchiefs. Followers used the handkerchiefs bearing his photo inside during prayer sessions, placing them on unhealthy parts of their body.
Former followers said in interviews many people suffering tuberculosis died from the disease, after failing to receive treatment at a hospital, because Lee said “leaning on medicine is proof that the person's belief is weak.”
“When my wife was so sick that she couldn't walk, I carried her on my back to bring her to the pastor believing he would cure her,” said a former church member. “By the time she passed away, suffering five, six years in bed without medication, she was bony and died in great pain.”
A scene captured from MBC's “PD Notebook”
Others said whenever an ailing follower died, Lee told churchgoers that this was because they were sinful, even making up stories of bad behavior.
The church touted that Lee had the power of God that enabled him to calm hurricanes. It used advertorials in newspapers such as the Washington Post for promotion, and showing testimonies posted on the wall of the church that claim Lee's prayers “made double eyelids without plastic surgery” and healed burns.
“I had my leg in braces for a muscle rupture. After I Lee prayed for me, I threw away my crutches and walked to the crowd. During the service, I've seen so many throwing their crutches away before and also believed it is kind of an act showing my faith. I just did without clutches when my leg was in great pain,” one ex-member said. “When I visited the hospital later, the doctor asked in shock why my leg had worsened all of a sudden. Later, church officials approached me to film a testimony, and the edited video was as if I was healed by the prayer.”
The show also reported that Lee organized a group of women called the “Hana” (one) Team within the church allegedly for having group sex, while there was also a VIP follower list of followers who had donated at least 3 million won to have a picture taken with Lee. Over the past seven years, Lee reportedly received 11 billion won in direct donations, of which he was suspected of spending 7 billion won on gambling overseas and investments in futures.
The Christian Council of Korea ejected the church in 1999 for heresy, over Lee's claim he was “sinless and exempt from dying.”
A scene captured from MBC's “PD Notebook”