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Shaman who killed niece in ritual has life sentence reduced on appeal

Published: 21 Apr. 2026, 21:25

An AI-generated image of a Korean shaman performing a ritual at a shrine [CHATGPT]

A shaman who bound and killed her niece by exposing her to burning charcoal as part of a ritual was sentenced to seven years in prison on Tuesday by an appellate court that determined the crime constituted fatal bodily injury rather than murder.

The ruling by the Incheon branch of the Seoul High Court reduced a life sentence handed down by a lower court to the defendant, surnamed Shim.

The court also reduced the 10- to 25-year prison terms for Shim's children and followers, who had also been convicted of murder or abetting murder. They were instead convicted of aiding and abetting fatal bodily injury and given suspended sentences.

The appellate court determined that the evidence presented by prosecutors was insufficient to prove that the co-defendants acted with conditional intent.

Murder with conditional intent in Korean law refers to situations where a person does not explicitly intend to kill, but is aware of the possibility that their actions could lead to someone’s death and nevertheless proceeds.

“It is possible the defendants foresaw the possibility of serious harm or death as the victim’s condition worsened,” the presiding judge said. “However, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that they went further and realistically recognized and accepted the outcome of death.”

The defendants were indicted for binding Shim's niece to a metal structure at a restaurant in Incheon on Sept. 18, 2024, and subsequently killing her by exposing her to burning charcoal for three hours.

Investigators found that Shim had carried out the crime with the help of her children and followers after claiming that “an evil spirit seeking to kill the victim’s mother had to be exorcised” when the victim attempted to leave the shaman’s side and quit working at her establishment.

The group tied the victim face down to a metal structure and repeatedly added burning charcoal to a basin placed underneath, exposing the victim to extreme heat, according to the investigation.

Charcoal burns in this file photo unrelated to the story. [NEWS1]

Authorities also found that Shim had manipulated her followers for a long period by leading them to believe that rituals or offerings could resolve real-life problems.

The judge also noted that the defendants did not attempt to conceal or destroy evidence of the ritual, including CCTV footage.

“Considering that they later attempted CPR and called emergency services, it is difficult to view this as a premeditated killing or an organized cover-up,” the judge added.

However, the court determined that Shim and her accomplices continued the ritual even after the victim lost consciousness, concluding that they had the intent to inflict injury and could foresee the possibility of death, but did not intend to kill the victim — distinguishing the case from murder with conditional intent.

It therefore upheld the charges of fatal bodily injury and abetting injury against the defendants.

“Shim carried out a reckless ritual on the victim, who was her relative, over an extended period, resulting in her death,” the judge explained.

“We took into consideration that the defendant appeared to genuinely care for her niece, carrying out the ritual for what she believed to be therapeutic purposes under a distorted shamanistic belief system, as well as the fact that the victim’s mother repeatedly pleaded for leniency.”

Regarding the accomplices, the court said it had taken into account that “they had lived for a long time within a religious community, blindly followed Shim and participated in the ritual under the belief that it was a form of psychological treatment, without making their own judgments.”

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 HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]