Leaders of a tiny Pentecostal denomination that ordained the preacher charged with killing a woman during a ritual to ``cast out demons'' yesterday defended their decision to give her credentials to act as a Christian minister.

But they stressed that their faith does not advocate violence in ``delivering'' followers from Satanic forces.

Details about Eun Kyong (Jean) Park, 30, emerged as she and four followers -- her mother, Hwa Ja Ra, 52; Tung Mi (Anna) Sin, 22; Natasha Baboulina, 19; and Evgeni Mogilevskaya, 18 -- were brought to Oakland Municipal Court and were given court-appointed attorneys to defend them. The five women are charged with murder in connection with the fatal beating of Kyong-A Ha, 25.

Police said Ha died after being struck 100 times on the face, chest and abdomen during a six-hour ritual to rid her of demons that Park claimed caused Ha to suffer from insomnia. Park and her mother are accused of beating Ha. The other women allegedly held down Ha to keep her from fighting back. Investigators say the group prayed over the body for four days before telling anyone that Ha had died.

Park, the leader of a sect called the Jesus-Amen Ministries, was ordained nearly four years ago by the Rev. Marilyn Hjertstedt of the 12-member Emmanuel Christian Fellowship of Bakersfield.

While Hjertstedt said she was shocked by the charges against Park, she also said she has been to Korea and was concerned about the physical force sometimes used in Pentecostal prayer there.

``They are very demonstrative when they pray for people,'' Hjertstedt said. ``It scared me to death.''

Hjertstedt said the last time she heard from Park was about two years ago when the Korean preacher wrote saying that she had started her own ministry: Jesus-Amen Ministries.

``She seemed to be a very sincere and all-right person,'' Hjertstedt said.

For her ordination, Park ``filled out all the papers she had to fill out, and had letters of recommendation,'' Hjertstedt said. ``I just prayed over her. The church headquarters OKd it.''

That would be the United Fundamentalist Church of Los Angeles, led by the Rev. E. Paul Kopp, a small Pentecostal denomination founded about four decades ago by Kopp's father and four other men.

Kopp said ``it is against our policy to use physical force'' when casting out demons.

``This is the first time this has happened,'' he said of Park's case. ``I have seen people delivered from demonic forces. I just touch them on the head. That's all.''

Kopp said ministers in his church must show that they know the Bible, have experience ministering to people, and have letters of recommendation from two ministers and two business people.

No formal seminary training is required, Kopp said, ``just like the fisherman on the Sea of Galilee.''

In light of the allegations against Park, Kopp conceded that it ``would be wise to get more background on people.''

Gregory Chandler and his wife, Sunae, said they were aghast that their friend Park was charged in such a case.

``I'm very surprised,'' said Gregory Chandler, who teaches Sunday school at the Richmond Korean Baptist Church. ``She's such a peaceful person, that's just something you wouldn't associate with her.''

He said he and his wife have known Park since January 1994, while Park was a youth director at their church. Park held the position for at least six months until last summer, the Chandlers said.

The couple went to court yesterday with a letter for Park that was written in Korean by Sunae Chandler. ``I will pray for you,'' the letter said, ``And with the support of God, I'm confident you'll be proven innocent.''

In another development, leading members of the Korean and Pentecostal communities expressed concerns that media coverage of the bizarre ritual would foster negative stereotypes about their faith and ethnic heritage.

``The Korean Christian community is very embarrassed by this,'' said Paul Dennis Kim, a lawyer and elder at the Jubilee Christian Center in San Jose. ``This is an aberration.''

Kim, who is also an elder at the 750,000-member Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea, said the explosive growth of Pentecostalism in his homeland has spawned a number of small churches like Jesus-Amen Ministries.

``There are bound to be a certain number of malfunctioning people in such an explosion,'' he said. ``There is a tendency for some groups to be wacko.''

The Rev. Dick Bernal, pastor of Jubilee Christian Center, defended the ``casting out of demons,'' also known as ``deliverance'' and ``exorcism,'' as a valid ministry of the church, and something practiced in his congregation.

``If I lay my hands on the person, I do in gently on their shoulder or forehead. Sometimes I don't even touch the person,'' he said. ``This is a spiritual battle. You don't drive the devil out with a baseball bat.''

Exorcism is also occasionally practiced in the Roman Catholic Church, but church leaders are usually very cautious about first consulting with mental health professionals.

``These problems can sometimes start with depression or obsession, and then lead to possession,'' said Bernal. ``We believe in the power of prayer, but we also believe in counseling and common sense.''

Park and her four followers are to return to court on March 30 to enter pleas to their charges.

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