Choi Tae-min
{{Short description|South Korean cult leader (1912–1994)}}
{{family name hatnote|Choi||lang=Korean}}
{{Infobox person
|name=Choi Tae-min
|image=
|caption=
|birth_date={{birth date|1912|5|5|df=yes}}
|birth_place=So-dong, Sariwon, Hwanghae
|death_date={{death date and age|1994|5|1|1912|5|5|df=yes}}
|death_place=Yeoksam-dong, Seoul
|education=Chaeryong Potong School
|spouse=Lim Seon-yi
|children=Choi Soon-sil
|relatives=Chung Yoo-ra (granddaughter)
|module={{Infobox Korean name/auto
| hangul = %최태민
| hanja = 崔太敏
| hangulborn = %최도원
| hanjaborn = 崔道源
| child = yes}}
}}
Choi Tae-min ({{Korean|hangul=최태민}}; 5 May 1912 – 1 May 1994) was the leader of the Church of Eternal Life, a South Korean cult combining elements of Buddhism, Christianity, and traditional Korean Shamanism.{{cite web|url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3025424&cloc=etc%7Cjad%7Cgooglenews|title=Shamanistic cult linked to president|date=27 October 2016 |access-date=26 February 2018}} Choi, originally a Buddhist monk, then a convert to Presbyterian pastor, was married six times. He was the mentor of the impeached South Korean president, Park Geun-hye (the daughter of former president Park Chung Hee), until his death in 1994. He allegedly used his relationship with Park to solicit bribes from government officials and businessmen.{{cite news |title=South Korea's leader acknowledges ties to woman in scandal |url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/10/25/south-korea-leader-acknowledges-ties-to-woman-in-scandal.html |date=25 October 2016 |newspaper=Fox News |access-date=28 October 2016 }}{{cite news |last=Choe |first=Sang-hun |title=A Presidential Friendship Has Many South Koreans Crying Foul |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/28/world/asia/south-korea-choi-soon-sil.html?_r=0 |date=27 October 2016 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=31 October 2016 }} In late 2016, a scandal involving his daughter, Choi Soon-sil, broke out, with allegations that she too has exerted undue influence over President Park.{{cite news|url=http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/667320.html|title=Pres. Park's former aide and his wife may be at the center of ongoing scandal|last=Kim|first=Oi-hyun|date=3 December 2014|newspaper=The Hankyoreh|access-date=7 October 2016}}
History
Choi Tae-min set up a religious group called Yongsae-gyo ({{lang|ko|영세교}}), or "Church of the Spirit World", and declared himself Maitreya, or a "Future Buddha".{{Cite web |url=http://justgopoppi.com.br/2016/11/03/o-que-esta-acontecendo-na-coreia-sul-politica-seitas-e-corrupcao/ |title=O que está acontecendo na Coreia do Sul: política, seitas e corrupção |access-date=2016-11-04 |archive-date=2018-01-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106120633/http://justgopoppi.com.br/2016/11/03/o-que-esta-acontecendo-na-coreia-sul-politica-seitas-e-corrupcao/ |url-status=dead }} He befriended Park Geun-hye soon after her mother, Yuk Young-soo, was assassinated in 1974. According to a report by the Korean Central Intelligence Agency from the 1970s that was published by a South Korean news magazine in 2007, Choi initially approached Park Geun-hye by telling her that her mother had appeared to him in his dreams, asking him to help her daughter.{{cite web|url=http://qz.com/821612/a-rasputinesque-mystery-woman-and-a-cultish-religion-could-take-down-south-koreas-president-park-geun-hye/|title=A Rasputinesque mystery woman and a cultish religion could take down South Korea's president|date=28 October 2016 }}
Choi was an associate of former-president President Park Chung Hee until the latter's death by assassination in 1979. Kim Jae-gyu, the director of the KCIA who assassinated President Park Chung Hee, told a court that one of his motives was what he called the president's failure to stop Choi Tae-min's corrupt activities and keep him away from his daughter.
In a newspaper interview in 2007, Park Geun-hye called Choi a patriot and said she was grateful for his counsel and comfort during "difficult times".
A 2007 leaked diplomatic cable from the American Embassy in Seoul reported rumors that Mr. Choi, a 'Korean Rasputin', "had complete control over Park's body and soul during her formative years and that his children accumulated enormous wealth as a result."{{cite news|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/10/28/2016102801342.html|title=Leaked U.S. Embassy Cable Warned of 'Rasputin' Behind Park|last=Lim|first=Min-hyuk|date=28 October 2016|newspaper=The Chosun Ilbo|access-date=28 October 2016}}
Frequently-used names
He used seven different names:Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA), 1979.
- Choi Do-won ({{Korean|hangul=최도원|hanja=崔道源|labels=no}}, 1927)
- Choi Sang-hun ({{Korean|hangul=최상훈|hanja=崔尙勳|labels=no}}, 1945)
- Choi Bong-su ({{Korean|hangul=최봉수|hanja=崔峰壽|labels=no}}, 1951)
- Choi Toe-un ({{Korean|hangul=최퇴운|hanja=崔退雲|labels=no}}, 1954)
- Gong Hae-nam ({{Korean|hangul=공해남|hanja=孔亥南|labels=no}}, 1969)
- Bang Min ({{Korean|hangul=방민|hanja=房敏|labels=no}}, 1971)
- Choi Tae-min ({{Korean|hangul=최태민|hanja=崔太敏|labels=no}}, 1975)
References
{{reflist}}
{{Choi Soon-sil gate}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Tae-min}}
Category:Founders of new religious movements
Category:South Korean activists
Category:South Korean Buddhist monks
Category:South Korean police officers
Category:20th-century South Korean businesspeople