Stranger Things

A smaller cult does allow for more direct control from above. There's no real place to hide when you share a home with an abusive cult leader, as in the following:

Dec 14, 2017: Prosecutors Arrest Cult Leader Over Couple Suicide (Korea JoongAng Daily)

QuoteProsecutors arrested a cult leader on Thursday for instigating the suicide of an elderly couple last month. They also arrested the couple's daughter for abetting her parents' suicide. The 83-year-old man committed suicide with his 77-year-old wife. . ...

In Korea, the couple rented a four-bedroom house in a small village in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi, together with five other followers, including their 43-year-old daughter. There, the cult leader constantly reminded her followers that she "was a prophet who had received God's revelations." She demanded complete obedience from them, forbidding them from speaking or even acting without her permission.

In the weeks preceding the suicide, however, the cult leader began convincing the couple that they were possessed with a "dragon," or the devil. She urged them to repent and go to where God was waiting for them.

On Nov. 11, she and the daughter drove the couple to a bridge overlooking the Bukhan River in Gapyeong, from which the couple jumped off. The father was found dead the next day in the river. Though the mother is still missing, she is believed to have been swept away by the currents.

On Thursday, the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office detained and indicted the daughter and the cult leader for abetting and instigating the suicide of the couple. ...

She also denied her role as leader of the cult, though records show that she was previously charged and found guilty of leading a pseudo-religious community several years ago. The cult leader did admit that she believed the couple to be possessed because she suspected them of engaging in immoral activities during their frequent, long visits to the bathroom.

She also admitted to making the husband watch "Pororo the Little Penguin," a Korean animated TV series for toddlers, so that his heart could be purified.

The daughter initially denied involvement, but when CCTV footage surfaced showing her helping her parents into the car and driving them to the bridge, she explained that she had lied out of fear that she would be punished for driving without a license.

Jan. 23, 2026: South Korea Indicts Cult Leader Who Abused Followers & Stepdaughter (Chosun Ilbo)

QuoteA man in his 60s who called himself "God," psychologically dominated his stepdaughter and female followers, and habitually committed sexual violence has been brought to trial. It was revealed that he even mobilized an incumbent public official to track down a follower who left.

The Namwon branch of the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office said on the 23rd that it indicted A (68) under detention on charges including violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (forced indecent act by a family relationship), quasi-rape, false accusation, and violation of the Personal Information Protection Act. Follower B (42) and public official C (53, female), who illegally looked up the victim's personal information on A's orders, were also indicted without detention on charges of violating the Personal Information Protection Act.