Original subtitles

[sirens blaring]

[static crackles]

[man] The police launched the investigation on December 8th.

After authorities received word of the murders,

they dispatched 50 investigators

to arrest the cult leader Kim Ki-soon at Baby Garden.

I remember at the time, we were having a service where we always held it.

THE BABY GARDEN, ICHEON, GYEONGGI-DO

It was huge.

Suddenly, someone said there were...

were tons of people outside, and we were surrounded.

Baby Garden members worked on weekdays,

so they carried out their ceremonies on Sunday evening

to listen to Kim Ki-soon's preachings.

There were so many people involved in beating the victims...

THE BABY GARDEN COOPERATION TOWN

...that we thought it was the best time to get them all at once.

Law enforcement officers and dozens of detectives

arrived at the scene that day.

It was a cold night.

[siren wailing]

The policemen were trying to get in through the many doors of the facility,

and the members were trying to stop them.

People were fighting at every door.

They were really going crazy, like animals.

One of our investigators was even thrown through the air and out the door.

That gives you an idea of how violently they were resisting.

LEE SOON-BOK ASSISTED KIM KI-SOON'S ESCAPE

I was there, and helped Kim Ki-soon escape.

- [crowd clamoring] - [sirens blaring]

I didn't understand. It was pretty serious.

I didn't know what was happening.

I stopped to think, and immediately assumed

they were coming after our leader, Kim Ki-soon.

I started looking for... an exit.

There was a passage that led underground.

We descended, and didn't see anybody.

So...

I helped her.

We lost Kim Ki-soon in the middle of the riot.

[dramatic music]

[sirens blaring]

IN THE NAME OF GOD: A HOLY BETRAYAL

THE BABY GARDEN OF DEATH

KANG MIN-KOO FORMER PROSECUTOR IN CHARGE OF THE CASE

I'm Kang Min-koo. I'm a lawyer. I was a chief prosecutor

at the Suwon District Prosecutor's Office, Yeoju Branch.

PROSECUTOR KANG MIN-KOO

This is where they tied up Nak-gwi and dragged him to the pigpen.

We took statements from everyone at the scene to determine how it all happened.

At the beginning, I honestly thought that what was happening could not be true.

That's how shocking it was.

WE WERE DRAGGED TO THE LEADER'S ROOM, STRIPPED NAKED,

BEATEN WITH WOOD AND METAL PIPES UNTIL WE HAD BRUISES ALL OVER OUR BODIES

I CLEARLY SAW KANG MI-GYEONG GET BEATEN INDISCRIMINATELY TO DEATH

IN THE STORAGE ROOM C-0 WITH WOODEN STICKS, UNDER KI-SOON'S ORDER

I THOUGHT I WOULD ALSO GET BEATEN TO DEATH IF I STAYED THERE

[Min-koo] After all these breathtaking murders were brought to light,

former members of Baby Garden were so disgusted

that they thought they should report Kim Ki-soon,

so they filed a petition against her.

I thought it was worth investigating,

and I started looking into it.

The part that particularly caught my attention

was the part about the horrible murder of a minor.

A child named Nak-gwi.

He was five years old when he was murdered.

The complaint was received almost ten years after his death.

And it was written and filed by the child's father.

PETITION

THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS PLACE

CHOI MYEONG-HO

CHOI MYEONG-HO

My name is Choi Myeong-ho.

FORMER MEMBER FATHER OF CHOI NAK-GWI

I'm the father of Nak-gwi, the boy who was murdered in Baby Garden.

I think I did it because I was absolutely devastated and desperate.

They wouldn't have been able to solve the case

if I hadn't stepped forward.

The only thing we could think of was to make a story on her.

Show her crimes and bring her to justice.

Those who agreed worked together to file a lawsuit.

DECEMBER 8, 1996

[sirens blaring]

THE BABY GARDEN COOPERATION TOWN

[man] The investigation was ordered by the chief.

They were looking for Kim Dong-hui, who was called to the court.

He was dragged out of his bed.

When we entered the room, we were shocked.

There was a very large safe. It was absolutely full of cash.

Over 700 hundred million won today.

At that time, there were no 50,000 won bills.

So there were a lot of 10,000 won bills.

So, yeah, that'd be... around 1.3 billion won nowadays.

The place where Kim Ki-soon lived was full of opulence.

Almost like a palace, I would say.

She had her personal sauna,

and she used to have a clay bed at the time.

It was quite big.

In contrast to their leader's way of life,

the followers' rooms were like military barracks.

At least, that's how they looked. The difference was immense.

When you went into Kim Ki-soon's room, it was very comfortable, almost like Heaven.

[man] I think the sound system in her room was worth at least 100 million won.

Everything in that room was extremely expensive.

KIM KI-SOON WANTED FOR MURDER

HOMICIDE, CONFINEMENT, FRAUD, ETC.

Since we weren't able to get the queen bee,

I figured the search and seizure was a failure.

I was really ashamed because of that.

We put her on the wanted list.

We tried to track down her car.

We tried everything.

[sirens whooping]

We exposed Kim Ki-soon's face to the media.

We asked to receive reports from the public.

But Kim Ki-soon was actually a very smart woman.

She stayed hidden.

[man] It was frustrating.

They couldn't find her anywhere.

They should've found her, but it wasn't easy.

The police were unable to track her down.

It was frustrating.

It wasn't obvious where she had run to.

[newsreader] Where is Ms. Kim hiding now?

[Min-koo] At the time, some of the former members

told us the truth about what happened.

But the ones who were still there did everything to protect her.

[man] Despite the accusations against her...

I TRULY AM LOVE

...Agaya is still considered a god at Baby Garden.

Well, you have to understand I don't know the details,

and clearly don't know where she is right now.

[man] Can I talk to you about Kim Ki-soon?

[woman] She's not here right now.

Obviously she's not here. This is a farm.

Behave while you're here.

[woman] She's not just any leader. She gives us guidance.

She's amazingly smart. Simply put, she leads us.

In a way, she is basically a family member, like a wise sister.

[producer] Where is she?

I have no idea.

I'm satisfied, of course. I'm happy.

It might be noisy,

but that's because some people are not doing their jobs right.

The ones who left may call themselves victims, but no one harmed them.

They got a lot of help.

That's not true.

Of course no one here went through anything like that.

Not a single one of the people who left this place.

None of them were bothered like that.

FORMER MEMBER OF THE BABY GARDEN

[woman 1] Please snap out of it, otherwise you'll just suffer for another 15 years!

- [woman 2] The hard work is worth it. - [woman 1] How is it worth it?

[woman 2] You left. Shut up and live your own life.

They were undeniably and completely loyal to this woman.

Just like bees instinctively protect their queen.

[man] We'll only answer to Agaya, forever.

HOMICIDE OF THREE AT THE BABY GARDEN

[man] This case revolves around three cult members who were killed and buried...

THREE MURDERED AND SECRETLY BURIED

...but the prosecution has not found any conclusive evidence.

THREE MEMBERS INCLUDING A CHILD SECRETLY BURIED

The only solution was to secure the corpses.

But one was cremated and the other was missing.

Trying to find the truth in a case where the bodies have been missing for a while

was a difficult task.

1978 THE RISE OF KIM KI-SOON

1987 THE GARDEN OF DEATH

The leader, Kim Ki-soon, established a cult here.

It's been revealed to the court she beat her followers who did not obey her.

"THE UTOPIA OF DEATH" OF VANITY

STRIPPED NAKED AND BEATEN AFTER GETTING CAUGHT TRYING TO ESCAPE

BRUISES COVERED THE ENTIRE BODY, AND EVEN TOENAILS FELL OUT

It was not only Nak-gwi who was killed, other people were slaughtered as well.

[woman] Yoon Yong-ung, Seo Jong-won, Nak-gwi, Mi-gyeong, all of them.

They're all dead.

[man] Those were mysterious deaths. We don't know how they died.

YOON YONG-UNG, 44 YEARS OLD

DIED ON JANUARY 2, 1988

It was January 1st, 1988.

I was getting ready

and Kim Ki-soon called me.

So I went to her room.

She told me

"You'll be fine without your dad, right?"

She said my father had died after drinking pesticide,

and that I shouldn't worry because I could live with her forever.

I couldn't even look at my father's corpse.

The only thing that I knew

was that my father had died.

KANG MI-GYEONG, 21 YEARS OLD

DIED ON NOVEMBER 20, 1988

[Soon-bok] Mi-gyeong was a very attractive and nice young woman.

She was always smiling, and she was very kind.

Everybody liked her a lot.

She was beautiful.

She was exceptionally pretty.

She was a girl who stood out from the rest of the community.

A gentle soul.

Kim Ki-soon has three sons.

[man] One of them

evidently had a big crush on Mi-gyeong,

because she was simply beautiful.

He had his eyes on her.

Mi-gyeong used to go to Kim Ki-soon's house in Muk-dong.

She was the person in charge of cooking and washing the dishes.

She was always there.

I guess... [sighs]

...he used that as an excuse to ask his mother

to keep her there as some kind of housekeeper.

[woman] Kim Ki-soon's son.

He liked Mi-gyeong. She wasn't the one, he went after her.

So one day, Kim Ki-soon found out about the whole thing

She thought it would cause controversy within the cult

if the members knew about it.

She tried to cover for her son, saying he would never do that.

Then she accused Mi-gyeong of seducing her son

and blamed her in from of everyone.

She said Mi-gyeong had to be punished.

I heard she made her parents beat her first.

Mi-gyeong's mother struck the first blow,

then the others started hitting her with sticks.

[woman] I went there after having dinner and working at the henhouse.

Everybody was talking, standing around Agaya.

Mi-gyeong was on her knees.

Some of the followers were standing near her with bats.

Then one of the guys holding a bat looked at me

and told me to kneel next to Mi-gyeong.

They said something like...

"You bitches are the same."

"You both broke Agaya's heart."

"Now we can kill you."

"We'll make sure nobody ever finds your bodies."

Then... after a few hits from her mother...

Mi-gyeong looked up at Agaya.

Kim Ki-soon called her a whore and ordered people to kill her.

They started to beat her.

[gasps]

[cries out]

[woman] It was like... a scene of chaos and lament from Hell itself.

My mind went blank

while watching those people beat such a petite girl

with no mercy whatsoever.

They were cussing her out heartlessly.

I was terrified.

I thought I might die.

[woman] Well, basically... my job back then was to clean the factories.

As I was cleaning,

I heard Mi-gyeong, ah... screaming for help.

FORMER MEMBER WITNESS OF THE KANG MI-GYEONG INCIDENT

[woman screaming]

She was...

so exhausted she couldn't even cry or scream.

[blows landing]

Mi-gyeong... ended up passing out.

Then I saw Kim Ki-soon leave, and the others followed her out.

The few people who stayed told me to clean everything up, clean the mess.

That night...

I couldn't get any sleep at all.

I just hid in silence,

and decided to run away.

[woman] I was wondering why was it so quiet.

All of the people who'd been yelling had left.

One by one, they all walked out.

When I found her,

I saw they had undressed her,

and they put her in these...

loose clothes instead.

She was just... lying there,

and she had peed everywhere.

She just... looked at me,

and I saw she was trying to tell me something.

I think she was asking for help

and... asking me to hide her somewhere.

I remember she was still alive.

But I ran away,

and I hid myself.

And then this woman, Kim something, came in.

She was holding a very large broom.

She was holding it upside down.

And she just...

[sighs]...beat that girl to death.

CHOI NAK-GWI, FIVE YEARS OLD

DIED ON AUGUST 14, 1987

He was so young. He wanted to see me, but he couldn't.

SUN YEONG-RE FORMER MEMBER, MOTHER OF CHOI NAK-GWI

He didn't know how to express himself, so he smeared poop in the windows.

He probably got frustrated.

He said he hated Kim Ki-soon.

Whenever he saw her, he started yelling.

She said... that a demon

that deified Agaya had possessed him.

[woman] She said the evil spirit would try to kill her,

so we had to get rid of the child.

If she... told us to kill someone, then we had to do it, it was not an option.

If she told us to go beat someone with sticks and bats, we had to do it.

We were all forced to do what we were told.

[Yang Bong-sik] What the leader said was the truth, and the only truth.

As happened with the people who died.

YANG BONG-SIK REPORTER AT AMENNEWS.COM

That was the case with Nak-gwi and Mi-gyeong.

While she was punishing them,

she tricked their parents so she could hit their children.

That's how she got away with it.

Now that I think about it, even Mr. Kang, who was a pastor at the time,

when his own daughter was murdered, he didn't do anything about it.

He was totally brainwashed.

He didn't file any charges.

She disarmed these people psychologically.

It was a frightening brainwashing.

Kim Ki-soon asked me to come see her.

AUGUST 15, 1987

She said "Nak-gwi is gone. He's dead."

"You should cooperate in this matter. Just do as I say."

I visited the director of a Christian clinic in Sanggye-dong.

CHOI NAK-GWI'S ACTUAL DEATH CERTIFICATE

AUGUST 14, 1987 9:30 P.M.

HAGYE-DONG, DOBONG-GU, SEOUL

They said, "Just sign here."

I noticed the doctor had already filled out all the paperwork

saying Nak-gwi had died from a heart attack.

According to him, it had been undoubtedly a heart attack.

DIRECT CAUSE OF DEATH: CARDIOPULMONARY ARREST

[producer] And did you sign it?

Yes, I signed it.

That document said my child, who had been beaten to death,

had died of a heart attack, but I signed it.

After that experience with the doctor,

I went to the community office to report his death.

But the desk worker seemed a bit confused.

She even asked if I was really Nak-gwi's mom,

and if I was entirely sure he had died.

I told her I was absolutely sure,

but I noticed that she didn't seem to believe me.

I realized that a mother should be totally devastated by the death of her child,

but I didn't get emotional enough, so she found that weird.

I remember it was pouring rain at that time of the year.

I saw Bang-su loading in the back of his truck

two old dresser drawers tied up with some ropes.

I remember Bang-su mentioned that Nak-gwi's body was inside those drawers.

I was told to go with him.

The orders were that I was to go with Bang-su to cremate the body

and forget about the matter.

Those were Kim Ki-soon's orders.

We arrived at the facility, and when it was our turn,

they took the drawers and told us to wait for the ashes,

But Bang-su said we had to go because we had to hurry back.

So I had to leave that place without even seeing my boy's ashes.

[sighs]

I couldn't even cry.

1987 THE GARDEN OF DEATH

1996 KIM KI-SOON'S ESCAPE

INVESTIGATION NOT PROGRESSED LACK OF EVIDENCE

Breaking news on the religious cult, Baby Garden.

It's been a week since the investigation started,

but Kim Ki-Soon still has not been found,

and the lack of progress is making the DA nervous.

[man] Prosecutors consider the arrest of Kim Ki-soon their top priority

to find out the truth about Baby Garden,

and have put all of their resources into her arrest.

However, a week has passed

and her whereabouts are still unknown.

The media were very harsh in their criticism of the prosecutors.

In their eyes... we had basically let her escape.

So she bought herself some time.

I believe we gave her enough time

to come up with a plan.

I went to see a famous lawyer who was very successful.

I heard about him from one of my acquaintances.

At that time, Soon-bok was basically

like Kim Ki-soon's right hand.

And although she was a fairly young woman, she was smart.

Back then, she used to be

Kim Ki-soon's advisor

and was in charge of handling the case.

LEE SOON-BOK ASSISTED IN KIM KI-SOON'S ESCAPE

She was...

a very capable and skilled young woman.

Kim Ki-soon was in a tough spot, and so were we.

If you think about it,

in a way, we actually put our lives on the line to achieve all those things.

We couldn't just let it fall apart.

BURIED SECRETLY

[Bong-sik] A man named Yoon Bang-su was the key to solving the case.

"CATCH THE DRIVER" PROSECUTORS PLAY HIDE-AND-SEEK

He was the one who took care of Nak-gwi and Mi-gyeong's bodies.

And he had begun to speak out.

Prosecutors suspect Yoon Bang-su, an excavator driver at Baby Garden in 1987.

They say he disposed of the bodies of Choi Nak-gwi and others.

You need an excavator to bury the corpse in that ground.

CHAE JEONG-SEOK, CHIEF, SUWON DISTRICT PROSECUTORS' OFFICE YEOJU BRANCH

As far as we know, he's directly involved. We are focusing on bringing him in.

We decided to call in Yoon Bang-su.

He was a large man.

The muscular type.

He looked like an honest and decent man.

YOON BANG-SU FORMER MEMBER, EXCAVATOR DRIVER

Unlike his appearance, he was a really shy person.

I can even describe him as introverted.

He said he didn't bury the bodies.

He denied it all.

He had known Mi-gyeong since she was a child, and they had a kind of friendship.

So I used that relationship

to try to persuade him.

"You knew Mi-gyeong since she was a kid."

"Don't you think it's terrible how she died?"

"Don't you want to tell the truth?"

[mournful music]

So, after a while, Bang-su came clean.

"I CARRIED MS. KANG'S BODY IN MY ARMS AND BURIED HER"

"I'M THE ONE WHO BURIED KANG MI-GYEONG'S CORPSE"

She used to have people like Bang-su displacing and burying victims' bodies.

- [man 1] And after that... - [man 2] Down!

- [man 1] That's it. - [man 2] Stay still.

- [woman] Curl up. - [man 2] Do it again.

[man 1] Film as he walks out. Come out slowly.

[camera shutters clicking]

[excavator engine idling]

[man 1] Do it just like before.

DECEMBER 20, 1996 THE EXCAVATION OF THE BODIES BEGINS

[man] Three days after the excavation began,

Yoon, the driver, arrived at the scene.

He buried Kang Mi-gyeong's body in 1988.

He said that's what happened.

[reporter] Where was the body, and where did you bury it?

The body was in a room, and I brought it here...

YOON BANG-SU

...to bury it.

- You see that drainpipe? - [reporter] Yes.

[Bang-su] I'm sure this is the place.

ONE OF THE LIKELY SPOTS KANG MI-GYEONG'S BODY WAS BURIED

Mr. Yoon Bang-su said Kim Ki-soon called him over

and gave him the order.

She said, "I beat her up and she died. Bury her."

Bang-su took Kang Mi-gyeong's body to the site,

dug a hole with the excavator, and buried her.

He mentioned he cried a lot.

He was very specific with his story.

We were sure we'd find Kang Mi-gyeong's body.

At the time, most of the media competed to cover this case.

We brought an excavator to every location Yoon Bang-su pointed out

and started digging.

She said they could dig all they wanted.

She knew

Mi-gyeong's body wasn't buried in that site.

[sighs]

Unfortunately, we never found it.

FAILED TO EXCAVATE MISSING BODY

Although the prosecution called the driver who confessed to burying Kang Mi-gyeong

to help with the excavation, they were unable to locate the body.

We were going crazy, because finding that body

was the only option we had left for the case.

And we failed to do that.

It was a big disadvantage for the prosecution.

1996 KIM KI-SOON'S ESCAPE

DECEMBER 1996 KIM KI-SOON TURNS HERSELF IN

[man] The prosecution revealed that cult leader Ms. Kim called the DA's office

to tell them she would turn herself in between five and six in the afternoon.

Two lawyers came to the chief's office

saying she would turn herself in.

[reporter] Is she coming over?

SUWON DISTRICT COURT IN YEOJU

Hey, hey, hey!

- Move, move! Move! - Out of the way!

- Everybody move! - Move!

Out of the way, asshole!

- In the front! - Out of the way!

You in the front, move!

Check the audio, check the audio.

You in the front!

- Hey, you! - I told you to move!

Move, move, move!

- That's enough. - Come this way.

- Why are you in front of me? - Over here!

Do you admit it's a religious group?

Ms. Kim! Why did you call the prosecution?

Where have you been?

We were finally going to close the case.

And she showed up dressed like an ordinary middle-aged woman.

She wasn't wearing any fancy or crazy clothes.

I remember thinking she was dressed much more humbly than I could've imagined.

PROSECUTOR KANG MIN-KOO

When the lawyers came to us, they said she would be released in three days.

If she went there voluntarily, she didn't have to worry.

So Kim Ki-soon thought that three days would be okay.

We thought she'd come back, but she didn't.

[man] The leader of the Baby Garden sect, Kim Ki-soon,

showed up voluntarily around six p.m. at the prosecutor's office,

where she was arrested for murder and abandonment of corpses.

The whole thing kept getting bigger, and the case blew up.

Her story was all over the news. Everybody talked about it.

THE BABY GARDEN IS A GARDEN OF EVIL

ESCAPING, KIDNAPPING, AND ESCAPING AGAIN AN EXODUS AFTER 15 YEARS

The story was in all the newspapers.

It got really serious.

[Min-koo] I questioned her myself.

Actually, the interrogation took all night.

She was a lot calmer than I expected.

She was very composed, and she only said what she wanted.

She never gave in.

I even tried to provoke her, asking some leading questions.

But she didn't talk.

I could tell she was well prepared.

Kim Ki-soon, the leader of Baby Garden, has denied all accusations against her,

including that of murdering her followers.

She denied it. She denied it all.

She said she never gave any orders.

She said she didn't know what we're talking about.

That those violent people were trying to punish the victims,

but she never knew what was happening.

JANUARY 27, 1997 THE FIRST TRIAL

[man] The trial of the Baby Garden leader and 11 others began today

at the Suwon District Court in Yeoju.

During the trial, Kim Ki-soon claimed

she had never been the spiritual leader of Baby Garden.

She said Choi Nak-gwi, the boy who died in 1987,

had never lived in Baby Garden,

and denied all other allegations.

DECEMBER 1996 KIM KI-SOON TURNS HERSELF IN

JANUARY 1997 YOON BANG-SU CHANGES HIS STATEMENT

A NEW STATE AFTER TESTIMONY IS CHANGED

The crucial witness who claimed to have buried the body of a Baby Garden member

confessed in court that his previous testimony was false.

[man] Mr. Yoon said he gave false testimony

because of the prosecution's threats.

[chuckles]

It was devastating news.

Yoon Bang-su was worried.

He said, "What if the Baby Garden falls and Kim Ki-soon is not released?"

"What will the community do? Where are we all supposed to live now?"

So I said "Take it back."

"Say you didn't bury them."

By then... Mr. Yoon Bang-su's following testimony

had completely lost credibility.

Yoon Bang-su

gave us the most trouble during the investigation.

THE FOLLOWING RECORDING IS A PHONE CALL

BETWEEN YOON BANG-SU AND A CREW MEMBER ON MAY 21, 2021

THIS CONVERSATION TOOK PLACE 25 YEARS AFTER THE BABY GARDEN INCIDENT

DURING THE CALL BETWEEN YOON BANG-SU AND A CREW MEMBER

- [man] Is this Mr. Yoon Bang-su? - [Bang-su] Yes.

[man] Is it true that you buried Kang Mi-gyeong's body?

[Bang-su] Yes, that's correct.

But back then, I said I didn't do it because of what Kim Ki-soon told me.

[man] So you accepted the offer of land for changing your statement? Is it true?

[Bang-su] I guess you could say... that's one of the reasons I did it.

- [man] So, you accepted it? - [Bang-su] Yes.

TRANSFER ALL SHARES

OWNERSHIP TRANSFERRED

OWNER: YOON BANG-SU

[Bang-su] After that boy, Nak-gwi, died, I drove his body over to the crematorium.

DURING THE CALL

- [man] Did Kim Ki-soon tell you to do it? - [Bang-su] Yes, she did.

I'm confessing after 25 years.

FORMER MEMBER TOOK PART IN BEATING CHOI NAK-GWI

It was a month... no, two months before Nak-gwi's death.

Kim Ki-soon began to inspect all around,

even the factories, to see if they were empty.

Since she didn't find anybody, she told me...

"We need to get rid of... Nak-gwi."

I said, "What?"

"You mean we should send him back to his grandmother?"

Yoon Bang-su showed up,

and she just said, "Look, Bang-su's coming."

She wanted to get rid of Nak-gwi, but I had no idea what she meant at the time.

It was only after he died I realized what she meant.

She planned it all out.

They're all the same.

They're nothing but murderers.

JANUARY 1997 YOON BANG-SU CHANGES HIS STATEMENT

MARCH 1997 NAK-GWI'S MOTHER TESTIFIES

There was no corpse or evidence,

so all we had left was Nak-gwi's mother's testimony.

So basically, the trial our last chance to prove Kim Ki-soon's guilt,

was hanging by a thread.

Being absolutely honest, we weren't really sure we would find Kang Mi-gyeong's body.

But still, we did have the testimony of the people who beat Nak-gwi.

They had to tell us everything in detail. So at least we had enough witnesses.

But since he was cremated,

we didn't even have enough to prove that he actually died.

[Yeong-re] This all happened during the time...

SEOUL PALACE HOTEL

...Kim Ki-soon was hiding in a hotel.

Her followers took me to her and she said,

"Cooperate. It's the heavenly will."

""You have an important role as the mother."

"If you do everything right,

if we get past this, we could win the case."

Then she hugged me and said she believed in me.

Sun Yeong-re...

I remember her.

She came to the Palace Hotel.

I think she agreed

to answer questions a certain way when she testified in court.

They planned it all out.

Nak-gwi...

was beaten and starved to death.

[producer] Did you say that in court?

I couldn't tell the truth.

The people on the defense were watching me closely.

I wasn't able to say it.

MARCH 4, 1997 THE DAY OF THE TRIAL

In court I testified that Nak-gwi had died from a heart attack,

like the doctor said, not from a beating.

DEATH CERTIFICATE CHOI NAK-GWI

CAUSE OF DEATH: CARDIOPULMONARY ARREST

The women who hit Nak-gwi admitted that they had done it,

but the mother of the child denied it.

It was... truly a sad and absurd situation.

CHOI MYEONG-HO FORMER MEMBER, FATHER OF CHOI NAK-GWI

I wanted to kill her. I remember calling her crazy,

a deranged woman, because she lied.

My husband said, "Snap out of it, you crazy woman."

SUN YEONG-RE FORMER MEMBER, MOTHER OF CHOI NAK-GWI

"Why can't you just admit that Nak-gwi was beaten to death?"

I saw the despair in his eyes.

But the others told me not to listen to him.

What could she have done? How did Kim Ki-soon convince her?

What could have made that woman lie...

about the death of her son?

EVEN THE MOTHER'S LOVE...

I can't forget just how heartbreaking and sad...

CHOI'S MOTHER SIDES WITH THE CULT LEADER SAYING, "HE DIED FROM A DISEASE"

...it was to watch maternal love get trampled on.

[crickets chirping]

MARCH 1997 NAK-GWI'S MOTHER TESTIFIES

1998 THE SUPREME COURT'S VERDICT

THE SUPREME COURT SENTENCES KIM KI-SOON TO FOUR YEARS IN JAIL

WITH A FINE OF 5.6 BILLION WON

NOT GUILTY OF MURDER CHARGES

Religious leader Kim Ki-soon, for whom the death penalty was sought,

was found not guilty of the murder charges

due to a lack of evidence presented by the prosecution.

[man] Kim Ki-soon was found not guilty of murder.

NOT GUILTY OF MURDER AND FRAUD

She was found not guilty in both cases.

For Nak-gwi's case,

the court acknowledged he had been beaten and killed,

but they said it had not been intentional.

They claimed she was trying to discipline him

and dismissed her intentions to kill him

That woman starved a child for two days

and then brutally beat him under the August heat.

Was she really just trying to discipline him?

Didn't she think he would die?

I should've never taken him there.

I was stupid. I have no one to blame but myself for taking my child there.

I wish that somebody would beat me.

I wish someone would beat me to death for everything that happened.

I wish somebody...

I wish somebody would just stone me to death. I really do.

I would like to beg for forgiveness.

I know I don't deserve it,

but I still want so much to beg for his forgiveness.

Tell him I know it's my fault and that I'm so sorry.

What am I supposed to do now?

Somebody please beat me. Please...

How am I supposed to live now?

I wish I could die, but I can't even do that.

[sobbing and slapping continue]

NAK-GWI'S MOTHER STILL WISHES FOR DEATH EVERY SINGLE DAY

AFTER PAYING HER FINE OF 5.6 BILLION WON IN CASH

KIM KI-SOON WAS RELEASED AND SHE RETURNED TO THE BABY GARDEN

KANG MI-GYEONG WAS FINALLY PRONOUNCED DEAD

24 YEARS AFTER SHE WAS REPORTED AS MISSING

THE VICTIMS OF THE BABY GARDEN ARE STILL SUFFERING

FROM POVERTY AND VARIOUS ILLNESSES

ALL INTERVIEWS IN THIS DOCUMENTARY USE REAL TESTIMONIES

TO PROTECT THE SUBJECTS' IDENTITY, SOME INTERVIEWS HAVE BEEN REENACTED

[somber choral music]