The incredible South Korean hunt for the billionaire church leader who owned that ferry
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/06/13/the-incredible-south-korean-hunt-for-a-billionaire-cult-leader-who-owned-the-ferry/
BY TERRENCE MCCOY June 13
Authorities raided a church on Wednesday in search of its co-founder, Yoo Byung-un, who is wanted on charges linked to Aprils ferry sinking that left more than 300 people dead or missing.
How many cops does it take to capture a billionaire? In South Korea, thousands. And even that may not be enough.
But of course, Yoo Byung-un is no ordinary billionaire. The head of a South Korean family that allegedly operated the ferry that sank in April and tragically took the lives of hundreds of children is a man of flamboyance and controversy. He was once jailed for fraud. A photographer, he once held an exhibition under a pseudonym at the Louvre. And not to be forgotten, he is the co-founder of a sprawling church that owns the Web site www.god.com.
As South Korea continues to throb with anger over the sunken ferry, officials are trying to convict anyone connected to its sinking. Fifteen members of the ferrys crew are currently on trial for charges ranging from negligence to homicide. Now the cops have put a $500,000 bounty on the billionaire, charging him with embezzlement, negligence and tax evasion.
This week, the government dispatched 9,000 cops and a helicopter to his sprawling church estate near Seoul, which critics say houses a cult called the Evangelical Baptist Church. Its an organization known for its organic ice cream and produce, and populated by female sect members called mamas, Reuters Ju-Min Park reports. The cops said they needed so much manpower because of the compounds sheer size. It covers 30 football fields. Its got a fish farm, a cow ranch, a 5,000-seat auditorium.
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