CultNEWS101 Articles: 1/6/2026
Patrick Ryan
"[A] conversation with martial artist and empowerment self-defense instructor Elicia Ybarra, [they] trace how a childhood love of ninja turtles and karate turned into a 30-year journey through grooming, coercive control, and abuse in multiple martial arts settings, and how she eventually turned all of it into a curriculum to help other women fight back before it ever gets physical.
Elicia described being groomed by a trusted instructor from ages 13–16, losing her community when she tried to set boundaries, getting pulled into a second “family” TaeKwonDo organization where a grandmaster weaponized rank, money, and humiliation, and how those patterns set her up for an extremely violent relationship she barely escaped."
Japan Times: South Korea's ex-first lady accused of taking over $200,000 in bribes
"South Korean prosecutors Monday accused the country’s former first lady of having accepted lavish bribes totaling over $200,000, including fine art, jewellery and a handbag, as well as meddling in state affairs.
Kim Keon Hee, the wife of disgraced ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol, was arrested in August and is under investigation for alleged stock manipulation and receiving gifts from the cult-like Unification Church."
ABC: Prosecutors wrap up bribery investigation into South Korea's former first lady
"In an announcement concluding their investigation, prosecutor Min Joong-ki said South Korea's institutions were "severely undermined by abuses of power" by Ms Kim.
The special prosecutor's investigations came amid a year-long probe into Mr Yoon's brief imposition of martial law last year and related scandals linked to the once-powerful couple.
Ms Kim allegedly "illegally intervened in state affairs behind the scenes, beyond the public's view," prosecutor Kim Hyung-geun said.
Prosecutors alleged Ms Kim accepted bribes from businesses and politicians totalling up to 377.25 million won ($390,000).
Investigators alleged Ms Kim had received two Chanel bags and a Graff necklace from the leader of the Unification Church.
She also allegedly received luxury jewellery, a painting by famed South Korean minimalist painter Lee Ufan, a Dior handbag and a wristwatch."
" ... The prosecution team has also indicted Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja, now on trial, after the religious group was suspected of giving Ms Kim valuables, including two Chanel bags and a diamond necklace, as part of its efforts to win influence.
Han has denied that she directed her church to bribe Ms Kim."
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