‘In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal’: Where Is Baby Garden Leader Kim Ki-soon Now?
Netflix‘s In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal explores four of South Korea’s most prominent cult leaders, one of them was Baby Garden leader Kim Ki-soon. She started as a devoted follower turned new prophet of her own flock that advocated for love. But as the docuseries tells the truth behind the mistreatment of her followers, brainwashing, and murder, she still roams free.
Kim Ki-soon was behind a few murders at Baby Garden
According to testimony in In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal, Kim wanted to achieve spiritual enlightenment but married and had children. After pastor Lee Kyo-bu was sentenced to prison for public nudity during a sermon, his followers believed divinity had moved on to Kim. She soon had her followers believe in her doctrine of love and achieving an eternal afterlife.
Her church/cult was named Baby Garden, and Kim soon had her followers work day and night to contribute to the church. She bought land and created a compound for all of them to live and work in. Instead of expanding outward, Baby Garden made more profit from laboring their members, even children. Kim’s hold on her followers grew, and so did her empire, as they owned a major record company.
In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal brings Kim’s monstrous ways to light. Behind her doctrine of love was a sexual predator. Testimonies in the docuseries revealed Kim would entice younger male followers into intercourse, sexual favors, and more. In 1996, Baby Garden would be in jeopardy when a prosecutor is alerted of multiple murders in the cult.
Some of the murders were followers who questioned Kim, the cult or wanted to leave. The case of Mi-gyeong was horrid when Kim learned her son had feelings for the young female teen. To stop a scandal, she had Mi-gyeong beaten to death. The worst case was the murder of Nak-gwi, a young boy. He was held captive in a pigpen and beaten. Kim and other members brainwashed his aunt to hit him and fed him feces. Kim had female followers believe he was possessed. Nak-gwi ultimately died.
‘In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal’ revealed Kim Ki-soon got away with murder
When prosecutors learned of the murder cases against Kim and Baby Garden, they got to work looking for evidence. The only way to secure a case was by interviewing Kim and finding the bodies. But during a raid of a sermon, Kim fled into hiding. Authorities believed they found the bodies when a Baby Garden member Yoon Bang-su began cooperating. He admitted to disposing of the bodies.
But when Kim turned herself in, Yoon recanted his statement, ruining the case. They never found the bodies, especially since Nak-gwi was cremated. Despite some members admitting to beating Nak-gwi, his mother refused to say it happened in court.
In 1998, the Supreme Court sentenced Kim to four years and a 5.6 billion won ($4,245,786) fine. The court acknowledged Nak-gwi’s death, but as unintentional. Kim was found not guilty of murder or fraud.
In the epilogue, In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal revealed Kim was set free after she paid the fine and returned to Baby Garden. According to The Cinemaholic, Kim still leads Baby Garden after paying her fine. But a Google search reveals no recent photos of her or controversies involving her cult.
What happened to Nak-gwi’s mother since her son’s death?
The docuseries ends the Baby Garden case by explaining that the victims are still hurting. At the start, fans met Nak-gwi’s mother, Sun Yeong-re. But she introduced herself as a “heartless woman” and someone who did not deserve ever to be called a mother. One of the most heartbreaking scenes is when Sun hit herself in the face calling herself a “b*tch” and asking for death. The production team had to force her to stop.
In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal revisits her to explain how she was unaware of what was happening to her son as she was often away working. But she, too, was brainwashed into following Kim. She was also present when Yoon disposed of her son’s body. She also signed the death certificate detailing a different cause of death.
Sun knew the truth at the trial but explained she could not say it at the time. Baby Garden followers were there and had a strong manipulative hold on her. In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal, Sun expressed that she wishes for death or “somebody would just stone me to death.”
“I want to apologize. I want to say that I’m sorry. It’d be shameless to ask for it, but I still want to beg for his forgiveness. I want to tell him that it’s all my fault and that I’m sorry,” she said.
How to get help: In the U.S., call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 or 1-800-273-8255. Or text HOME to 741-741 to speak with a trained crisis counselor at the free Crisis Text Line.
