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Shaman gets life in prison for burning niece alive during exorcism

Published: 25 Sep. 2025, 17:56 Updated: 25 Sep. 2025, 18:51

[JOONGANG ILBO]

A shaman in her 70s has been sentenced to life in prison for killing her niece during an exorcism, the Incheon District Court said Thursday.

The 79-year-old defendant was convicted of murder after binding her niece and exposing her to charcoal heat for hours, leading to her death.

Four accomplices, including the shaman’s children, received prison terms ranging from 20 to 25 years. Two others were sentenced to 10 years in prison for aiding and abetting the crime.

Prosecutors said the group killed the victim, a woman in her 30s, on Sept. 18 last year inside a restaurant in Incheon’s Bupyeong District. The shaman allegedly targeted her niece after the younger woman quit her job at the restaurant and sought to leave the shaman's side, insisting an “exorcism” was necessary.

The group tied the woman to a steel frame and exposed her body to burning charcoal for three hours. She lost consciousness and was taken to a hospital the same day, but died the following morning from multiple organ failure caused by severe burns.

Police initially referred the case to prosecutors as involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors later upgraded the charge to murder after concluding the shaman had planned the killing.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]