Seoul police crack down on Holy Water filter prof

For you sir? Sparkling or Holy?

A South Korean professor's claims that his range of digital water filters could turn regular tap water into genuine Holy Water from Lourdes have brought an icy response from Seoul's police.

According to local reports, one Professor Kim - said to work at a "prestigious medical school" - had sold the devices to almost 5,000 people, making around $1.4m in the process.

JoonAng Daily says Kim claimed that he had digitally captured the healing powers of genuine Holy Water from the Catholic Shrine at Lourdes, in France.

His device, featuring ceramic and paper filters and plastic cards, could transfer this divine essence to regular Seoul tap water, he claimed.

Anything from cancer to diabetes could be cured by the divinely filtered liquid, the prof allegedly claimed, all without the inconvenience of travelling to France, staying in a hostel with a bunch of sick people and having to say a decade of the Rosary every hour on the hour.

However at least some purchasers appeared to be uncured by the miraculous filters, and duly went to police.

The police in turn checked in with the Seoul National University and Korean Institute of Science and Technology who declared Kim's argument to be "completely impossible".

It's not clear whether it's the transference of the divine powers they object to, or the very idea of miraculous cure-all Holy Water.

Either way, Kim might be better off facing the wrath of the Korean police and his disgruntled customers, than a bunch of French priests and hoteliers objecting to the digitisation of their main tourist attractions. ®