Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol is facing disapproval from local shamans over his purported links to a spiritual adviser who is under investigation for corruption.
Yoon, who was removed from office on April 4 following his failed December 3 martial law decree, and his wife, Kim Keon-hee, have been accused of regularly asking shamans for spiritual advice, according to local media.
On Wednesday, prosecutors conducted their first court-approved raid against the couple as part of an investigation into one of their advisers, Jeon Seong-bae, a shaman better known as Monk Kujin.
Members of the country’s “shamanic community” said Yoon had given their practice a bad reputation.
“Shamanism is fundamentally a spiritual practice dedicated to protecting the country,” Lee Sung-jae, head of South Korea’s largest association of shamans, told UK newspaper The Times. “Using it for personal or political gain is sacrilegious.”
Yoon and Kim have long been accused of seeking the advice of shamans on key matters ranging from relocating the presidential office and discussing political strategies to selecting dates for official overseas trips.
