Prof sells ‘holy water’ cure devices

A professor from a prestigious medical school claimed to have captured the curative powers of holy water from Lourdes, France - a Catholic pilgrimage site - and transferred them to devices that could turn ordinary tap water into miracle cures. He then sold the devices to nearly 5,000 people, police said.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency charged 53-year-old Professor Kim with selling fake devices that could produce “life-giving water” and making illegal profits of nearly 1.7 billion won ($1.3 million).

The police also charged eight people, including Kim’s 53-year-old wife and his brother-in-law, for manufacturing and selling the devices.

According to the police, Kim claimed that he obtained holy water from the shrine to the Virgin Mary at Lourdes, France, and somehow saved its healing powers in digital form.

He claimed to have been able to transfer this information onto ceramic filters, paper filters and plastic cards used in water purifiers. He sold these items to nearly 5,000 people, accumulating 1.7 billion won.

“Professor Kim says if the medical properties are changed into digital signals, and radiated onto any water, the water will adapt those properties,” the police said.

Kim and his associates told customers that different devices cured different maladies, including diabetes and tumors.

Kim sold the ceramic filters, which cost 1,500 won in stores, for 40,000 won. Filters for insulin and cancer treatments sold for 90,000 won.

Police asked the physics departments at Seoul National University and Korea Institute of Science and Technology whether Kim’s “transfer theory” was true, and they said it was “completely impossible, based on no scientific evidence.”

Police said the people who bought the devices complained when they didn’t work.

On his company’s Web site, Professor Kim said, “The transferring of healing effects to water is something that modern science cannot prove. I have customers who saw benefits from these filters, and I am eager to participate in experiments.”

By Jung Seon-eon [enational@joongang.co.kr]