THE FOLLOWING EPISODE CONTAINS DESCRIPTIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE
WHICH MAY BE DISTURBING FOR SOME VIEWERS
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW HAS EXPERIENCED SEXUAL ABUSE
PLEASE VISIT WANNATALKABOUTIT.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION AND CRISIS RESOURCES
RECORDING PROVIDED BY THE VICTIM IN 2018
-[woman 1] You never thought it was wrong? -[woman 2] No.
-[woman 1] You're always obedient? -[woman 2] Yes.
It's not that weird.
[woman 2] Why isn't it weird? Do you have to do everything he says, then?
Even having sex?
[woman 1] Pastor Lee is God. It's okay.
If he says it's not a sin, then it's not a sin.
[woman 3] "I do this because I love you."
[woman 4] Because he's God.
[woman 5] He wanted to see my breasts. He asked me to undress.
[woman 4] And he told me to moan.
[Jeong-hye] He looked… very closely at that part.
He just stared at it.
[Lee Jae-rock] Even if I have some flaws,
even if I kissed somebody,
and even if I laid next to them,
I believe that you will forgive me.
I have no shame in front of God.
I truly don't feel ashamed.
MANMIN CENTRAL CHURCH
IN THE NAME OF GOD: A HOLY BETRAYAL
GOD OF MANMIN WHO WENT TO PRISON
[New Age music]
[woman speaking Korean]
[interpreter] Our beloved members of Manmin,
welcome to the pastor's castle.
Welcome!
[ceremonial music plays under ominous soundtrack]
[birdsong]
Our Father is preparing this wonderful place
for all the faithful believers of Manmin.
There are five levels to Heaven.
In the first one, you stay in a place called Paradise.
PARADISE
The Kingdom of Heaven is the second.
FIRST KINGDOM OF HEAVEN SECOND KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
The Second Kingdom is above Paradise.
Then the Third Kingdom.
THIRD KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
And at the very top is New Jerusalem.
NEW JERUSALEM
In Paradise, you'll live in the fields forever.
MEASURE OF FAITH FIRST LEVEL - PARADISE
The First Kingdom has buildings.
In the Second, you get to live in a house.
In the Third, you're given a castle.
And a palace waits for you in New Jerusalem. Or so they say.
How thankful are we, knowing we can enter the New Jerusalem.
Thank you so much, dear Father!
Thank you very much!
-[applause] -[women] Thank you very much!
Were there any houses you wanted to have for yourselves?
[man] Amen!
Yeah, it's a very big place.
The main castle is huge, it's… millions of square footage.
There's an ocean, too, and a beautiful lake that you will all love.
My goal in life was to end up there. At the best place.
FORMER MEMBER OF MANMIN CENTRAL CHURCH
The closest to the Throne of God.
KIM MYEONG-JUN FORMER MEMBER
Manmin took advantage of that. It's called the Measure of Faith.
TEAM HARMONY KIM MYEONG-JUN, BAPTIST
They turned your faith into a number.
They wrote it on a piece of paper and gave it to you.
"Your faith is at 30%."
"Your faith is at 70%."
So that made people go crazy over it.
They also got very anxious. People with a high Measure …
FOURTH LEVEL 02.90
…were basically like celebrities, and moved up the ranks.
Those who don't get a high Measure fall behind until… they're eliminated.
[man sighs]
[Myeong-jun] I was desperate to get higher Measures of Faith.
So I started giving even more, and also investing much more.
[man] Oh, yeah!
FOURTH LEVEL
I… I think I got to three percent on the fourth level.
THIRD LEVEL
I was around 40%. The third level.
I was on the third level with 60-point-something percent.
Getting to 60% on the third level means you stand on the "Rock of Faith."
LEE KWANG-OH FORMER MEMBER
I got that pretty early, and I was so happy to get it quickly.
I think I was number 800 out of 15,000 people.
That was my rank in Heaven.
It was actually very impressive.
MANMIN CENTRAL CHURCH
[Jae-rock] If you have never been to the Rock of Faith,
if you have never received an acknowledgement,
even though I recognize your face,
there's a reason why you haven't made it yet.
You need to find out what that is.
Now that I think back, only those people who paid a lot would get high percentages.
That's the conclusion that I've come to.
THOU SHALT NOT STEAL
MANMIN CENTRAL CHURCH
[Jae-rock] In a way, this sermon is a continuation
of the previous sermon that I gave about Hell.
If you don't pay your offerings,
I promise you that the Lord will place a curse upon you.
[man] Amen.
I see it often.
If you get into a car crash
and break and shatter your bones,
or suffers a hemorrhage,
you see, it's always because of the same reason.
It's obvious. It's because you didn't pay.
You have to pay your offerings.
[chanting]
[unsettling music playing over chanting]
Thank-you offering, sanctuary-building offering,
charity offering, special offering.
During a Bible study, during Feast of Harvest,
during Easter.
And there was also one during Christmas.
And a tithe,
based on your income before taxes.
[Jae-rock] Some people say that they can't pay the tithe
because they're unemployed and don't have income.
But every single person can pay the tithe.
Even young children have income from New Year's, allowances,
other celebrations, school celebrations and birthdays.
The parents can pay the tithe in their child's name by using their income.
[crackling and squelching]
There are two ways to give money to the Manmin Church.
Offerings and gifts.
Offerings are the money you give in offering envelopes,
while a gift would be money you give unofficially.
[Jang Ho-ki] Offerings are a separate thing.
Members pay offerings and gifts,
even if that means they have no money to live on.
And yet, they always donate,
even if they go into debt.
He puts members in competition with each other.
to see who can pay more.
"You and you. You both got the first place."
"And you, that elder gets third place."
I think I must have paid somewhere close to one billion won
over the course of 24 years.
I think my family paid over a billion won too.
At the very least, it's 800 million. But I think I paid over a billion won.
There were many people taken advantage of financially.
JANG HO-KI, PRODUCER, PD NOTE
These people dedicated their lives to giving offerings to the church.
He's such an atrocious man, who brainwashed them all…
JANG UN-CHUL, REPORTER AT AMENNEWS.COM REPORTED ON MANMIN CHURCH
…and then, sadly, used that for his own gain.
[grasshoppers chirping]
[man] When you analyze it, a lot of members of the church
had a very poor quality of life.
FORMER MEMBER OF MANMIN CHURCH CHURCH EMPLOYEE
In terms of earnings, it's probably fair to say
most of the church's members were at the very bottom of the ladder.
Despite that, they gave money to the church.
MANMIN CENTRAL CHURCH
How did that happen? They had two jobs.
[woman] Hey, take this to that table.
[man] They worked hard to earn the money for the offerings.
Eight hundred, ten thousand…
They didn't have much money, and a lot of them went into debt.
You leave church after a service.
BYUN SEONG-KWANG, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF PD NOTE EPISODE
But at Manmin Church, the members line up and wait afterwards.
[cheering]
-[woman 1] Pastor Lee! -[woman 2] Pastor Lee!
[man] Pastor Lee!
[woman 3] Our entire family supports you!
Thank you.
[Kwang-oh] If you grabbed his hand and asked for a prayer, his car stopped.
A member might get a minute of prayer, 20 or 30 seconds.
Amen!
There's somebody in the car who collects the money envelopes.
He's the director of planning.
As far as I know, a lot of people paid thousands of dollars n offerings
to receive his blessings.
May Jesus lay his hand upon you in prayer.
MISSIONARY MEETING FOR BUSINESSPEOPLE
Show us the inspiration, influence, and greatness of the Holy Spirit.
[all] Amen.
We pray that you'll surround us with light.
[all] Amen.
There is a missionary gathering for businesspeople,
those who give the most money.
We were invited to go.
While there, they collect around three to five million won per person.
The tithe from August…
There were six or seven people who paid nearly ten million won,
but now, we've got more than 12.
[woman] Amen.
-[man] I'll bring you joy, Father. -[Jae-rock] All right.
[man] Let's go to the car to receive prayers.
-[Jae-rock] Sure. -[man] Over here.
-[Jae-rock] Okay. -[man] Come on.
-Let's hug. -[Jae-rock] Sure, sure. Sure.
I got a new car, Pastor.
-Where is it from? -Germany.
Father, bless this car.
-Please bless this key as well. -Amen.
Bless your light upon it.
-In the name of Jesus! -[group] Amen.
Please, dear God, bless this car.
-[man] Amen. -[Jae-rock] Amen.
[woman] You had to pay to take a picture with Pastor Lee.
I don't remember the exact price.
It started out not being much.
But then, there were so many who wanted
to have their picture taken with Pastor Lee,
they ended up paying at least a million won per picture.
I'm sure I gave around ten million won for a picture.
[Kwang-oh] These are the pictures I paid for.
I had over 40 of those framed.
The total cost is easily over 400 million won.
MANMIN CHURCH BOOKSTORE
Manmin Church had a store called Manmin Bookstore.
BENEDICTION, EXTRA-LARGE FRAME 80,000 WON
They sold pictures of Jae-rock…
BENEDICTION, LARGE FRAME 50,000 WON
…key rings, notebooks, all kinds of paraphernalia like that.
And people would buy these things too.
In a way, it's a really shrewd business.
The funniest one for me was Muan Sweet Water.
These people put Muan Sweet Water
in these small spray bottles to make it easier to use.
MUAN SWEET WATER
It was crazy.
You could spray it on to get double eyelids.
It was also supposed to fix broken washing machines.
[man] Muan Sweet Water worked its miracle on a broken washing machine.
It was stuck. I was desperate.
I spent ages trying to open it, then it opened with a click
right after I sprayed the Muan Sweet Water.
The washing machine works well now.
Everything is fine now.
Everything is fixed.
[woman] The door wouldn't open for over an hour,
but it unbolted with a click
right after it was sprayed with Muan Sweet Water.
[barking]
[Myeong-jun] To Manmin Church, Muan Sweet Water
is like a cure-all for the members.
They say there's this light, and also this power,
and something magical in this common water just because Jae-rock prayed over it.
PLEASE GIVE THIS WATER SPIRITUAL POWER…
So, they claim that the users can experience some kind of miracle
if you drink it or put it on yourself.
They had a thing called "Mailbox"
where you could call an automatic response system
and you could listen to pre-recorded messages from Pastor Lee.
[woman] This is Manmin Central Church.
Press 10 to start your day with Pastor Lee's prayers.
Press 20 to hear a prayer for recovery.
30 for a three-minute sermon. Press 40 for a prayer for the sick.
Before my grandfather died, he was hospitalized.
I wanted him to heal.
So, I remember I played Jae-rock's voicemail prayers for the sick for him.
I remember it clearly.
[Jae-rock] Let me begin the prayer for the sick.
Place your hand on the place where it hurts.
If you're not ill, then simply put your hand over your heart…
[man] He listened to it for a while,
then he looked at me to take the earphones out.
Nevertheless, I made him listen to the whole thing,
because I wanted him to listen.
I should have just talked to him or gone on a trip with him. Yeah.
[sighs]
It's all about money in the end.
The church is denying it, but they had an enormous amount of money saved up.
GOAL: 1.5 BILLION
SPECIAL TREATMENT PLAN FOR HIGHER-PAYING MEMBERS
[man] With three million won, you could meet him with others who paid the same.
If you paid more, you'd meet him with people who paid that amount too.
It was like that.
If you paid the most, you'd get a private meeting.
Those people paid over 100 million won.
[man] How did the church treat people who paid that much money?
Well, those people were basically treated as VIPs by the church associates.
There were people dressed in beautiful hanbok.
They had special seats.
That made them the envy of all Manmin Church members.
Those seats were not just for anybody.
They must have given a lot of offerings, like, really a lot of money,
to dear Pastor Lee.
Honestly, back then, it felt pretty nice.
Because of that system…
FORMER MEMBER OF MANMIN CENTRAL CHURCH
…my dad paid millions of won every year to the devotion worship
to have my sister sit at the very front.
If you gave more money, you got the right to sit at the front.
[man] Why were those seats so important?
Because you were closer to Pastor Lee.
THOU SHALT NOT KILL
Illnesses happen as a result of a sin, as a punishment.
You'll never be ill if you don't sin.
Have you ever seen someone fall ill when they've never sinned and are obedient?
-[crowd] Amen. -[woman] Amen.
If you get a deadly illness,
it means that you committed a sin so serious that death is the punishment.
He said to me, "You won't get ill if you don't sin."
"If you're ill, you must have sinned."
He pushed us to believe that.
People thought that going to the hospital reflected a lack of faith.
He was proud of that.
But in reality, there were illnesses
that could have been stopped if treated in time.
But people just prayed,
and many of them ended up dying.
Tuberculosis lives in the Manmin Church.
It's actually a part of its history.
The members of the Performing Arts Committee
are all in their 20s or 30s.
They all sing and dance together, and as I said, they're all young.
They're all… always in the spotlight.
-[in Korean] ♪ Fruits of joy ♪ -♪ Fruits of joy ♪
-♪ I am changed ♪ -♪ I am changed ♪
♪ His love saved me ♪
Sadly, many wonderful people ended up tragically passing away.
My wife…
FORMER MEMBER
She passed away in 2006.
[TV theme music]
Hi, dear believers. How are you all doing today?
After the 100th episode special,
God showed his great power through our beloved Pastor Lee…
She was a really pretty girl. She was in the Hallelujah Praising Team.
FORMER MEMBER OF MANMIN CHURCH
She was a very petite and slim girl, with a feminine and beautiful voice.
[husband] She was brushing her teeth,
then she ran up to me with toothpaste in her mouth.
She was bleeding.
I told her we should run to the hospital…
[sighs]
She had tuberculosis.
Faith was supposed to be our treatment.
She was on the praise team.
When we found out about it,
she said her treatment was her faith.
She said, "I was supposed to only love Jae-rock."
"And now I'm sick because I decided to get married. I'm going to die from it."
She was considered a sinner.
If you get a deadly illness,
it means that you committed a sin so serious that death is the punishment.
[husband sobbing]
[husband] Before she passed away, she…
was so very skinny.
And her lungs had basically stopped working.
And she…
died a painful death.
[birds calling]
Aside from tuberculosis, there were a lot of people who suffered from cancer.
When I found out the situation, I thought,
"Is it really faith that prevents these people from going to the hospital?"
"Unbelievable."
THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY
You know, I always talk about this in the sermons.
People are affected by the evil spirits because of adultery.
Adulterers
are possessed by evil spirits, but they have no idea.
They keep committing adultery because they have that spirit in them.
They can't stop.
They don't realize that they are under the influence of evil spirits.
Lee Jae-rock was always very emphatic about adultery
and relationships between men and women.
And he would always say,
"Because I don't have any adulterous spirits in me,
I don't feel anything when I see a naked woman."
[man] At one point, they began separating the men from the women.
"Don't sit next to each other. Don't be in the same space."
Men and women couldn't talk to each other.
So, how did they communicate?
Well, you would talk to them through someone else.
In my case, it was my sister.
I would tell the message to her,
and when the other person responded,
my sister would pass that message on to me, and the chain continued.
There was an incident with the letters of repentance in 2010.
"The members have too many sins."
"They lead sinful lives."
I did not think that such sinners would be part of our church.
These are people who gave in to their sexual desires.
And some of them also acted in a very indecent
and totally improper manner.
They said, "If you write a letter to Jae-rock about your sins,
they will be forgiven."
I have cried so desperately…
I cried so that not a single soul would go to Hell, I…
[sobbing]
I didn't know it'd be this bad.
I didn't know that this pain would make my life so… so unbearable.
Please show compassion for us, and forgive us.
Your son begs you.
I'm begging you.
[woman] We had to confess all our secrets.
LETTER BOX OF REPENTANCE
I had to remember holding hands with somebody when I was seven
and what I did with a man when I was 20.
Did I do anything else?
I had to remember everything and confess it.
It was really hard.
[Myeong-jun] Once everyone wrote their letters of repentance,
it became mandatory for all church members.
If you didn't do it,
there was no way you could be sure if you would be saved or not.
It was something that was very upsetting.
You keep committing those deadly sins.
Don't you feel bad for your pastor?
Is it really that hard to believe?
If you commit a sin,
you'll die just like it says in the Bible,
and there'll be no salvation, I promise you.
This topic is kind of…
I feel bad talking about it.
This might really hurt someone.
Their family is still having a really hard time.
He was a little bit…
LEE CHAN-HEE FORMER MEMBER OF MANMIN CENTRAL CHURCH
…free-spirited.
He dated a lot of people.
He was a huge extrovert, and a very friendly kind of person.
[singing in Korean]
PLEASE NOTE THIS FOOTAGE IS NOT RELATED TO THE ACTUAL VICTIM
[man] He ran into several problems with various women.
Jae-rock found out about it.
That ended up being, well…
a great disadvantage for him, honestly.
He told him once, "You can't be saved."
So he… cut them off.
He literally cut off his genitals.
You could see a physical difference.
He became feminine.
He was a bodyguard and he loved to exercise.
He's skinny now.
He has no muscles, and no facial hair.
Such things shouldn't have happened to anyone.
They were just extremely illogical.
And they didn't just happen to one or two people.
[younger man] He had such blind faith, he thought it was right.
"Where can I have it done? I have to do it!"
I considered it.
And when I looked into it, he even told me
where it was done and the cost.
He said it took five days to recover from the surgery.
But it was illegal.
[traditional music]
[Chan-hee] Jae-rock was very sensitive
about things like dating somebody from the Performing Arts Committee.
[woman] Like I said, there were pretty girls from the church.
I think he thought that those girls belonged to him.
But if they dated or slept with another man,
he considered them tainted and filthy.
He had to have them for himself.
And so no other man could be with them.
"They're all objects, and they're mine."
Pastor Lee Jae-rock of Manmin Church
was accused of sexually assaulting nine female followers…
[man] Police believe the assaults…
SEXUAL ASSAULTS AGAINST FOLLOWERS
…happened frequently, perhaps over years.
LEE ACCUSED OF SEXUAL ASSAULTS
APRIL 26, 2018 FIRST POLICE SUMMONS
[woman] You denied all the charges. So there was no sexual intercourse?
[man] This is dangerous. Please, he's walking here…
-[woman] You deny any sex? -[man] He's hurt…
Go. Go. Could you just go?
[woman] Are you denying any intercourse? Or just the sexual assault?
[Jae-rock] I deny everything.
[woman] Why did you call female members at night?
[man] Just go.
They say they hated it when you asked them for sexual intercourse.
-[man] Sir-- -[Jae-rock] I never did that.
[woman] You never did anything like that?
-[man] Excuse us, Choi. -[woman] Don't you--
Don't you want to apologize to your victims?
[man] Okay. Watch your leg, sir.
Be careful, sir.
I mean… it was unbelievable.
Completely unbelievable.
I thought, "How can something this absurd happen?"
Honestly… who could have imagined he was a sex offender?
I thought they were rumors.
Manmin Church and its members
do not acknowledge the claims of Pastor Lee's sexual assaults.
We believe that such claims will be revealed to be false.
First, stop all false claims!
-[woman] Stop them! Stop them! -[all shout]
BE STRONG, PASTOR! STOP THE FALSE CLAIMS
The church will prove Pastor Lee's innocence.
[woman] We'll prove it! We'll prove it!
WE LOVE YOU, PASTOR LEE!
When we started gathering material for the piece…
LEE MOON-HYEON, REPORTER SOCIETY DEPARTMENT OF MBC
…we thought he was the leader of a cult or something like that.
But what we never imagined was that
we were actually dealing with a dangerous criminal.
Another sexual assault victim filed a lawsuit
against Pastor Lee Jae-rock of Manmin Central Church,
who's being investigated for sexually assaulting his followers.
Here's the story.
[Moon-hyeon] She says she was sexually assaulted by Pastor Lee of Manmin Church…
The victim was like a leader among younger members.
She brought in some evidence…
MANMIN CENTRAL CHURCH
along with some pictures she took with Jae-rock.
All these sources helped a lot during the investigation.
There, I learned things like virtue, honesty, and love.
I loved learning that. It was something good.
[Moon-hyeon] She was very specific about the last time
she had been sexually assaulted by him, and where it took place.
It was information that wouldn't be shared with just anyone in the church,
so that's how I knew I could trust her story.
She said she first received a personal call from Jae-rock in 2011.
[ringing]
[Jae-rock] How are you?
[Moon-hyeon] She said she was ecstatic. She was born religious.
Then, all of a sudden, the man she was convinced was God,
this noble and holy man, was calling her.
TESTIMONY OF A FEMALE VICTIM OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
[woman] I thought, "Maybe he wants to discuss my Measure of Faith in private."
"Or maybe he'll assign me a duty and a title."
[romantic music]
He said, "Hey, can you come to the apartment?"
"No one knows about this place, so please don't tell anybody."
So I left my house and took a cab there.
He was pretty careful. He said, "Don't use a card. Use cash."
They wanted to prove their conviction, and dipped into their savings,
withdrew the money in cash, and put it in an envelope.
It was simple. Then they changed into their clean, white clothes.
[witness 1] I felt so nervous when I pressed the doorbell.
[bell rings]
I was praying on my way there.
Then even the way he poked his head out was so shocking to me.
As I went in, I noticed there was a large mattress right in the living room.
[romantic music continues]
All of the victims' stories have great similarities.
They were all invited to his house.
[bell rings]
And he told them, "I am God."
"So, there's nothing wrong with what happens here."
He said, "This is the Garden of Eden. Therefore, you must be naked."
Those are the kind of things he told the victims.
Then, the saddest thing,
the victims didn't really know what was happening to them.
TESTIMONY OF A VICTIM OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
[witness 2] I couldn't think straight.
"What's going on?"
"Is it okay for him to do this to me?"
"What is this? What's going on?"
"I see, this must be his Grace protecting me from the other men out there."
I prayed for about a month, and I guess at that point,
I just accepted the thought that it must have been God's grace.
[thunder crashing]
[Seong-kwang] He wasn't God. He was the Devil.
He used to say, "You are in the presence of God."
And also, "Just by touching my body, you'll be healed."
"You'll go to Heaven."
He was the Devil in sheep's clothing.
TESTIMONY OF A VICTIM
[witness 4] He unclasped my bra.
I was surprised because he was so good at it.
[Jeong-hye] "Who owns your pussy, Jeong-hye?"
He looked… very closely at that part.
He just stared at it.
He brought my face closer to his genital area.
Then he said, "That's not right."
"Your teeth are hurting me."
While we were having sex, he kept asking me if it felt good.
And he told me to moan.
"Good? Good?"
[witness 5] All of us had to pay attention
and keep watching while he had sex with my friends.
[witness 4] He said we were too clumsy and made us watch porn and practice.
So when his assistant played porn for us, I would practice my moaning.
PLEASE NOTE THIS FOOTAGE IS NOT RELATED TO THE ACTUAL VICTIMS
[witness 6] Those girls were really pretty.
It was clear that he preferred girls who were born religious like me,
because they were more naive,
and they'd never been touched by a man.
After he sexually assaulted us,
he gave each one of us around three million won.
People suddenly started getting nice cars and houses
That was fairly common. "Where did they get the money to buy those things?"
[witness 4] He gave me an envelope with a million won. It was all in cash.
TESTIMONY OF A FEMALE VICTIM OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
[Jeong-hye] I used to get two to three million won.
[witness 3] He wrote "4,500" in green ink on a white envelope he gave me.
He gave me six million won.
It all came from the offerings. That's where he got the money from.
I think he gave me two million won.
Five million at most.
I also paid offerings.
There were many times when I would just return all that money.
I didn't know what to do with the money.
I didn't want to spend any of it. For me, it didn't make sense to use it.
So I gave it back to the church.
After that, their Measure of Faith would suddenly increase considerably.
A lot of the Performing Arts Committee had really high rankings in the church.
I think there were 20 to 30 people.
So everything was connected.
You had to elevate your spirit,
but for you to achieve that, you had to sleep with him.
Not only that, but he continued to assault his previous victims.
We will not give in to the unfaithful demands, dear Pastor Lee.
[all] Amen!
[woman] We're here for you!
[group] You can do it!
We love you with all our hearts!
The image of the pastor that we grew up with never really changed.
Through all these years, he maintained a kind and loving image.
We've only seen one side of him,
standing by the members of the church through their ups and downs.
We just thought those women were promiscuous.
That they liked to fool around with men.
FOR I AM A GOOD SHEPHERD, I WILL SACRIFICE MYSELF FOR MY SHEEP
[man] "They were immoral. Sinners."
People spread rumors.
They'd say things at private gatherings.
They'd say they were dirty.
Some of the adults did know what was happening to us.
But they still wouldn't leave the church.
That was because he said he was holy.
They said, "A simple human can't judge this man's holy actions."
If one single person had spoken out,
none of this would have lasted for decades.
I'm sure it wouldn't have lasted so many years.
SECOND POLICE SUMMONS
-[Moon-hyeon] Do you admit it? -Where are we going?
-[Moon-hyeon] Why did you do it? -[Choi] Are you admitting it?
[Moon-hyeon] You're not gonna talk?
-Why did you call your members? -[Choi] You think you're the Holy Spirit?
[Moon-hyeon] We kept asking questions right up to the elevator.
But Jae-rock didn't say anything to defend himself or anything like that.
And the people around him were trying to shove away the reporters that were there.
I remember him seeming shameless.
-Move away, please. -[Choi] Excuse me!
[Moon-hyeon] Why were they in your room at night?
Tell us about April 12!
ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING CHURCH MEMBERS
PASTOR LEE JAE-ROCK'S SECOND POLICE SUMMONS
After that, he continued to deny the charges
during the prosecutor's investigation.
During the trial, he would just deny everything.
He claimed he had never assaulted them.
He hired very expensive lawyers
and pleaded not guilty until the very end.
There was a very specific incident that brought down Manmin.
An audio of a female member began to circulate.
She was one of the most prominent and active members of the church.
It's an audio of this person talking to one of her friends.
In that recording, she's saying
that there was nothing wrong with having sex with Jae-rock.
RECORDING PROVIDED BY THE VICTIM IN 2018
[woman 1] Do you really think it's okay he demands that from unwilling women
just because he's the Holy Spirit?
-You never thought that it was wrong? -[woman 2] No.
[woman 1] So you're always completely obedient?
[woman 2] Yes.
-It's not that weird. -[woman 1] Why isn't it weird?
Do you have to do everything that he says, then? Even having sex?
[woman 2] Pastor Lee is God. It's okay.
If he says it's not a sin, then it's not a sin.
[choral music]
When I listened to that, I realized that it was all true.
I found my 20 years of faith shattered in just two hours.
[producer] So, how did it feel to have 20 years of faith shattered?
[choral music swells]
Uh, I guess it felt like… my mind…
going completely blank in a second.
It felt like my head was getting slammed with a huge hammer.
I was so shocked that I couldn't do anything all day. Yeah.
It was unimaginable.
You never think that God could do something like that.
"Huh?"
I was stunned.
I felt like I had suddenly been hit by a bomb.
I mean, Jae-rock was over 50 years older than them.
And he knew them all.
These were kids who went to his church
He prayed with them.
These kids first came to the church carried by their mothers,
and he did unspeakable things to them.
At first, I almost went after him.
It was all completely outrageous.
[witness 2] To think he'd practically raised those girls since they were kids,
and then did that to them when they were just teenagers until their 20s…
He was in his 70s. I don't even know what to call him.
Pervert? Degenerate?
I wonder what I would have done in their place.
If Pastor Lee had called me to his room,
and asked me to do that.
To take off my clothes, saying we were like Adam and Eve.
It may sound shocking, but I think I would have obeyed him.
RECORDING PROVIDED BY THE VICTIM IN 2018
[Jae-rock] I love you so much, spiritually.
The body is a very important thing, but I love you with my spirit.
[woman, tearfully] I know that.
[Jae-rock] If you don't like physical love, I won't even consider it.
[woman sighs]
[Jae-rock] I won't consider it if you don't like it.
I don't love you just because of that.
[woman] Okay. [sniffles]
[Jae-rock] All right.
I'll see you tomorrow.
-[woman, sobbing] Okay, thank you. -[Jae-rock] Sure.
-I love you. -[woman] Okay. Bye.
-[sniffling] -[hangs up]
The day their God was destroyed was May 3rd, 2018.
That was the day.
[camera shutters clicking]
[woman] We're here for you! Stay strong.
MAY 3, 2018 LEE JAE-ROCK IS ARRESTED
Do you admit it?
[dramatic music]
Do you deny the charges?
At the prayer meeting, you said you don't fear the police.
What do you mean by that?
Pastor Lee of Manmin Central Church has been arrested,
after being charged with multiple sexual assaults.
[echoing footsteps]
[dramatic music intensifies]
[Myeong-jun] The day of his arrest, it suddenly started hailing.
Almost as if God were angry.
[Kwang-oh] Manmin Church calls that day the "Hail Incident."
All the members were furious, saying he was being put through hardship.
MANMIN CENTRAL CHURCH
[crowd clamoring]
[man] Disclose the truth! The truth!
[all] We want the truth!
WHY IS OUR PASTOR LOCKED UP FOR 15 YEARS?
[chanting] We want truth! We want truth!
PASTOR LEE WAS FRAMED
[group singing in Korean]
BRING OUT THE LIE DETECTOR
TRANSPORT
[man] There he is.
There he is, right there. You got him?
For many people, it was their first time seeing him looking like a coward.
When he got out of the car, he seemed wary to me.
They say he didn't have white hair because he was God.
He was supposed to keep his black hair even as he got older.
But he looked like a random old man.
[dramatic music continues]
DEFENDANT LEE JAE-ROCK SENTENCED TO 16 YEARS IN JAIL
[woman] Dear Lord, keep us in your heart…
JANUARY 18, 2018 FILMED BY CREW OF PD NOTE
…as we wish Pastor Lee a very happy new year.
Let's say "Happy New Year," and bow.
[all] Happy New Year, dear Pastor Lee!
SOME MANMIN CENTRAL CHURCH MEMBERS ARE STILL WAITING FOR PASTOR LEE JAE-ROCK
-[group shouting] -[man] Our dear Pastor Lee!
-We miss you a lot! -[woman] Come back to us soon!
LEE KWANG-OH, CORRECTION ADVISOR AT SEOUL NAMBU DETENTION CENTER
I am currently Director of Corrections at Seoul Nambu Detention Center.
I have authority in the detention center.
I visited the center in Daegu in March 2021.
I wondered, what was the true nature of this deceptive man?
How was his life in prison?
So, when I saw him, I said, "Hey, Jae-rock!"
He glanced at me.
Just imagine how my heart was pounding when I said his name.
[rapid heartbeat]
"You need to live a better life! Aren't you afraid of God?"
That's what I wanted to say, but then…
he didn't recognize me.
Even in prison, he was the leader of his cell.
He always has five million won kept in custody.
He's eating well and living well.
[unsettling music]
ALL INTERVIEWS IN THIS DOCUMENTARY USE REAL TESTIMONIES
TO PROTECT THE SUBJECTS' IDENTITY, SOME INTERVIEWS HAVE BEEN REENACTED