Shaman in her 70s sentenced to life for killing niece with charcoal fire

Incheon District Court / Korea Times file

A 79-year-old female shaman has been sentenced to life in prison for killing her niece with burning charcoal under the pretext of exorcising an evil spirit.

The Incheon District Court’s Criminal Division, presided over by Judge Yoon Yi-jin, sentenced the woman to life imprisonment on charges of murder on Thursday.

Four accomplices, including her children and followers, received prison terms of 20 to 25 years, while two others convicted of aiding and abetting were each sentenced to 10 years.

The woman and her accomplices were accused of killing a woman in her 30s, identified as B, at a restaurant in Bupyeong District, Incheon, on Sept. 18 last year.

Prosecutors said she bound her niece to a steel frame and, with her accomplices, exposed her to the heat of burning charcoal for three hours, claiming she was “driving out an evil spirit.” Her niece collapsed in pain and was taken to a hospital, where she died the next day from multiple organ failure caused by severe burns.

Investigators found that the woman had long exploited family members and followers by using shamanistic rituals and offerings to manipulate them psychologically, effectively gaslighting them into working at her restaurant and other businesses for her benefit.

Police initially sent the case to prosecutors on charges of manslaughter, but following further investigation, prosecutors upgraded the indictment to murder.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.