11-Year-Old Dies After Severe Abuse... Pastor Facing 'Witch Hunt' Claims While Victims Detail Horrific Torture

Why did an 11-year-old boy die at a church?

SBS's "Unwanteds" (hereinafter "Unwanteds") tracked the truth behind the death of a child at a Cheonan church on its September 5 broadcast.

On the evening of August 5, an emergency call was placed from a church in Cheonan, reporting that a child was unresponsive and exhausted from a high fever. The child was immediately rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead.

The deceased child was 11-year-old Mideum (alias). However, signs of bindings were found on his wrists and ankles, and his entire body was covered in multiple bruises of varying ages and unknown origins, raising suspicions of abuse. Furthermore, Mideum, who was wearing an adult diaper, died from multiple organ failure.

It was also revealed that two days before his death, Mideum had gone to a nearby restaurant covered in bruises to beg for food, prompting a report to the police regarding suspected abuse. Prior to that, the child had asked an adult at a convenience store to take him to a police substation. However, the child was repeatedly sent back to the church each time, ultimately leading to this tragic outcome.

Police arrested the church pastor, whom the boy usually called mother, and his maternal grandmother, who had entrusted him to the church, on charges of child abuse resulting in death. However, the pastor's husband protested their innocence, claiming that "the pastor is facing a witch hunt." Some church members also took the pastor's side, arguing, "We had no choice because the child had severe disabilities."


However, differing opinions existed. Another church member stated that Mideum's disability was not severe. They also revealed that prior to the boy's death, the pastor had denounced Mideum, claiming he was "possessed by an evil spirit." Members of the church, who were found to live communally, kept silent, claiming they could not say anything even though they were present at the scene.

The pastor's son-in-law stated, "There is much to be unfair about from the pastor's perspective." Meanwhile, the associate pastor deflected blame, saying, "If the pastor made mistakes, they are wrong, but the past 11 years and 8 months must not be distorted," criticizing the initial decision to take in Mideum's birth mother who had nowhere else to go.

He claimed that Mideum received care from all church members. However, he argued that after Mideum's maternal grandmother secretly took the child home to meet his birth mother and revealed the secret of his birth, the boy began acting out and causing problems. Consequently, Mideum was hospitalized in a psychiatric ward for over a year, he mentioned.

He also claimed that the reason the child was bound was not to prevent escape, but because of running away, stating, "He ran away 20 to 30 times because he wanted to steal food. Moreover, the maternal grandmother repeatedly said she did not want to raise the child. The grandmother probably tied him up; the pastor is not someone who would tie him up." However, the maternal grandmother's stance was different. While she initially claimed everything was her fault, she revealed the truth as various pieces of evidence emerged: everything was the pastor's decision.

Struggling to raise multiple children alone, Mideum's maternal grandmother felt deeply grateful to the pastor for taking in Mideum, moving her home near the church and dedicating herself to the church and the pastor. Working two jobs, she handed over 1 million won per month in child-rearing expenses to the pastor and took charge of all kinds of chores at the church.

However, the pastor filled even sermons with criticisms of Mideum, had other church members physically discipline the child, and forced Mideum to claim that his grandmother had disciplined him. It was suspected that the grandmother was able to bind the child under the pastor's orders and remain silent about the pastor's violence due to prolonged gaslighting.


Soo-jung, who began attending the church run by Pastor Kwak when she was in the fifth grade of elementary school, ended up living at the church after her parents' divorce, where she suffered horrific ordeals she never wants to remember again.

Soo-jung's mother, who was studying at Pastor Kwak's theological seminary, was frequently assaulted by church members, and when she resisted, the assaults extended to Soo-jung and her younger sibling. Like Mideum, they became targets of attacks and criticism during sermons. Church members tortured the mother in front of the Soo-jung sisters, striking her genitalia, forcing her to consume urine, and pulling her tongue while beating her to prevent her from speaking out.

Soo-jung's mother revealed the lingering marks of violence still on her body. She had worked unpaid at a restaurant run by the pastor at the time and handed over all her basic livelihood subsidies. Unable to bear the constant surveillance by church members, the mother eventually made an escape, and with the help of relatives, the Soo-jung sisters were also able to escape.

However, there was a reason why they could not report the pastor. Soo-jung's aunt, who was a church member at the time, and her children were among the perpetrators who assaulted and harassed the Soo-jung family together. A former follower stated regarding Pastor Kwak's church, "There was no boundary between the perpetrator and the victim."

At the time, Pastor Kwak told some young followers that they had received the mission of the 12 disciples, making them drop out of school and undergo her training. This training was not to become pastors, but to form a combat squad to catch ghosts. Many followers' lives were reportedly endangered by such violence.

The former follower noted that because they had all lynched one another, they could not report the pastor, adding that Pastor Kwak habitually abused children from broken homes entrusted to her care. They asserted that it was undoubtedly Pastor Kwak who made the maternal grandmother beat Mideum.

Pastor Kwak was also suspected of mobilizing all means to obtain excessive prescriptions of medication for Mideum and to secure a disability rating. Ultimately, by securing a disability rating and exemption from compulsory education on grounds such as illness, Pastor Kwak isolated the child from school as well.


Experts noted that Mideum's behaviors were classic symptoms of child abuse syndrome, stating that even his obsession with food was a trace of abuse. They also stated that victims of abuse inevitably register lower intelligence scores, suggesting that the child's actual intelligence likely did not have major problems.

A religion expert commented, "I suspect that protecting children was used as a means to showcase the church's public credibility or religiosity. It seems she viewed Mideum like an accessory to receive respect and praise for herself."

A crime expert evaluated, "Mideum played the role of a black sheep and scapegoat within the church. Furthermore, the abuse inflicted on Mideum has been used as an example to deter other church members, clearly showing that the church members were in a state of psychological subordination to the pastor."

Pastor Kwak has currently been forwarded to prosecutors on charges of child abuse resulting in death. Prosecutors reportedly reached this decision after concluding there was no intent to commit murder.

However, a forensic medicine expert stated, "Ordinary people know that binding a child for 30 hours in such a situation can cause death. Moreover, they tried to resolve the situation themselves before reporting it belatedly, raising suspicions of murderous intent in this regard as well."

Additionally, a religion expert raised their voice, drawing attention by stating that crimes occurring within churches "must be subject to severe aggravated punishment."

(Photo courtesy of Yonhap News)
(Produced by SBS Digital News) (Reporter Kim Hyo-jung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.