Dunno. The facts on the ground are that Choi's father became an ordained priest in '75 (reportedly he paid handsomely for his ordainment and didn't actually complete theological studies) and set up his own Christian-Shamanistic church. Commentors describe him as having been mostly interested in political gain and using his cult as a means to do so. It's unclear in what capacity his daughter has actually continued to do so. One of Korean's Shaman associations has publically distanced itself from both of them this week, effectively calling them self-appointed charlatans.
Basically, cults do exist in Korea, and cults and political leadership have been involved with each other. Whether there's a grand conspiracy I can't say.
I'm no fan of religion myself, but in fairness it's important to note that "Shaman" & co are sort of a trigger word for a Western audience, invoking images of the barbarians at the gates - that's our Christian cultural-historic bias at work (I'm originally from Germany). This conflict actually plays out in Korea as well, owing to a large percentage of Christians among the population (how that came to be is in itself a fascinating topic). But really it's just a tree of folk religions. The problem here is how easily it's invoked by cult schemes, I guess.
Basically, cults do exist in Korea, and cults and political leadership have been involved with each other. Whether there's a grand conspiracy I can't say.
I'm no fan of religion myself, but in fairness it's important to note that "Shaman" & co are sort of a trigger word for a Western audience, invoking images of the barbarians at the gates - that's our Christian cultural-historic bias at work (I'm originally from Germany). This conflict actually plays out in Korea as well, owing to a large percentage of Christians among the population (how that came to be is in itself a fascinating topic). But really it's just a tree of folk religions. The problem here is how easily it's invoked by cult schemes, I guess.