After Husband's Death, Entire Family Relies on Shaman Couple
Installed 13 CCTV Cameras and Used Location Tracking App for Surveillance
Managed Salary Account and Embezzled Over 250 Million Won
A shaman couple who gaslighted a family for 19 years, committing various abuses and sexual crimes while extorting hundreds of millions of won, have been brought to trial.
Gaslighting a family, committing various crimes and extorting money
According to the legal community on the 7th, the Criminal Division of the Yeoju Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jeong-hwa) indicted the shaman A (52) and his spouse on the 5th of last month on charges including instigating special injury, forced molestation, extortion, confinement, and violations of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Violence Crimes (coercion using recorded materials), among others.
A and others are accused of keeping B (52) and his three children C, all in their 20s, in a state of mental and physical domination from 2004 until this year, forcing them to assault each other.
They also forced and threatened the siblings into sexual relations and committed sexual crimes such as photographing their nudity. The couple installed 13 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in B’s family home and installed location tracking apps on their mobile phones to constantly monitor them while issuing such orders.
The shaman couple threatened to distribute CCTV footage showing incestuous sexual acts within the family if their orders were not followed, coercing the siblings into sexual relations.
Additionally, the couple made family members who did not obey their orders assault each other. It was investigated that B, following the couple’s instructions, burned his children’s bodies four times with a spoon heated in fire. The shaman couple also ordered the children to assault their mother B or to confine each other inside the house.
They are also accused of managing the youngest sibling’s salary account and credit card and extorting about 250 million won from January 2017 to November 2021.
Furthermore, it is presumed that the couple forced the three siblings to take out loans ranging from 20 million to 80 million won each under the pretext of covering living expenses, thereby making their economic situation more desperate and increasing their dependence on the couple.
Eventually, the couple kept five cats they brought into each of the five rooms in B’s house, which forced B’s family to live in the kitchen, as was revealed.
Started relying on the shaman couple after the husband’s death
It was investigated that B began to rely on the shamans after the death of her husband. The shaman couple took care of B’s minor children while she was at work, and from then on, the children reportedly favored the shaman couple more than their mother, according to the prosecution.
The couple’s crimes came to light in April when the eldest of the three siblings fled to a neighbor’s house covered in blood.
A and his spouse deny the charges, claiming it was "a family matter" and that they are "being falsely accused." However, neighbors reported that the shaman couple was involved in the assaults, which led to the full details of the case being uncovered.
The prosecution is investigating additional crimes committed by A and his spouse. The couple’s first trial will be held at 11:10 a.m. on the 10th at the Yeoju Branch of the Suwon District Court.
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