"If You Don't Receive Shinnaerim, Your Family Will Die"... Shaman Extorts 700 Million Won for Gut Ritual

To customers seeking fortune-telling, forcibly imposed shinnaerim rituals
Caused injury to disciples under the guise of religious ceremonies
Shingut fees used to repay personal debts

A female shaman in her 40s who embezzled over 600 million won in shamanistic ritual fees by using abusive language such as saying people would live unhappily if they did not receive a shinnaerim (spirit possession) was sentenced to prison.

Embezzled over 680 million won from 9 people over 2 years... Did not perform shamanistic rituals but paid off personal debts

A scene from the movie 'Paksugeondal'. The photo is not directly related to the content of the article. [Image source=Naver Movie]

On the 4th, Judge Kwak Gyeong-pyeong of the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 2 sentenced A (47), a shaman tried without detention on charges including fraud and assault causing injury, to three years in prison and ordered her immediate detention in court.

A became famous after appearing on a TV program and has been running a popular YouTube channel with nearly 30,000 subscribers for the past six years.

A was indicted on charges of embezzling a total of over 680 million won from nine people by August 2021, including receiving about 70 million won from B in August 2019, promising to perform a shinnaerim ritual for fortune-telling.

She was declared bankrupt in 2007 and had debts exceeding 1 billion won, including overdue credit card payments.

Investigations revealed that A used most of the money received under the pretext of shamanistic ritual fees to pay off her debts and did not perform the promised rituals.

Embezzled money by saying "The reason you are unhappy is because you did not receive shinnaerim" and other abusive remarks

Shaman A's YouTube channel. [Image source=YouTube capture]

In 2019, A told B, who came for fortune-telling, "The reason you have lived unhappily separated from your family since childhood is because you have spiritual energy but did not receive shinnaerim," adding, "If you receive shinnaerim, you and your family can live healthily and well." She then deceived B by saying, "If you pay the shamanistic ritual fee, I will make sure you receive shinnaerim," leading B to pay 70 million won for the ritual.

In June of the following year, A also received over 100 million won for a so-called 'Jinogwigut' ritual from a couple, C, after telling them that if they did not receive shinnaerim, they would suffer from illness and have a blocked future.

A’s abusive remarks to deceive disciples and clients using shinnaerim as bait became increasingly severe over time. To instill strong belief, harsher abusive language was necessary.

She also told other clients that "If you do not receive shinnaerim, your younger sibling will commit suicide," or "Your mother will die from a brain disease," mentioning their families.

"You must remove the snake inside" Pressed the abdomen with elbows for an hour... Also charged with injuring a disciple

In August 2020, while praying with seven disciples near 'Gido Teo' by Chiaksan Mountain in Wonju, Gangwon Province, A said, "An exorcism must be done. There is a snake inside that must be removed," and wrapped one disciple’s arms and legs with cloth to immobilize them. She then pressed the disciple’s abdomen with her hands and elbows for about an hour, causing injuries including uterine bleeding, and was also indicted for this.

Three days later, she made a victim aspiring to become a shaman strip completely, doused them with cold water, and verbally abused them, claiming the victim could not properly find the spirit.

Judge Kwak stated, "The defendant disguised her actions as shamanistic practices to embezzle money from victims and even used violence," emphasizing, "The number of victims and the amount of money involved are significant."

He added, "The defendant has still not returned most of the embezzled money," and explained the sentencing reason, "She consistently made excuses in court and did not admit her wrongdoing, so a severe sentence must be imposed."