Grandchildren Imprisoned and Assaulted Grandmother... The Person Behind It Revealed

Fake Suicide and Missing Person Staged to Pressure Police
Court: "Inhumane Crime"

Court image. The Asia Business Daily DB

A man and his younger sister in their 30s have been sentenced to prison for imprisoning and assaulting their grandmother. Behind their actions was a female shaman, who also received a heavy sentence.

On January 11, the 11th Criminal Division of the Uijeongbu District Court (Presiding Judge Oh Changseop) sentenced Mr. A, in his 30s, to three years in prison for aggravated unlawful confinement resulting in injury, aggravated unlawful confinement of an ascendant resulting in injury, and obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means. His younger sister, Ms. B, received a one-year prison sentence, suspended. The shaman, Ms. C, in her 40s, who manipulated the siblings, was sentenced to six years in prison.

Mr. A was found guilty of imprisoning his paternal grandmother, who is in her 80s, in his home in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, from April 2 to April 8 last year. He installed a location-tracking application on her mobile phone to prevent her from escaping, threatened her with a weapon, and assaulted her. On April 8, while Mr. A was asleep, the grandmother managed to leave the house and report the incident to the police.

The police investigation revealed that the shaman, Ms. C, was behind Mr. A’s crimes against his grandmother. In 2023, Ms. C moved into an annex in the yard of Mr. D’s house (the father of Mr. A and son of the victim) after being introduced by an acquaintance. She built a relationship with the family by giving advice on issues such as land disputes and workplace harassment, sometimes intervening actively and gaining their trust. In particular, Mr. A and his younger sister, Ms. E, frequently communicated with Ms. C and relied on her psychologically.

Tensions arose when Mr. D did not handle a land transaction as Ms. C had advised. Ms. C reported Mr. D for domestic violence after he physically assaulted his son, Mr. A. Mr. D was arrested, received a temporary restraining order, and was forcibly removed from the house, escalating the conflict. In response, Mr. D took legal action to evict Ms. C from the annex and cut off the electricity supply.

Enraged, Ms. C decided to pressure Mr. D and force an apology by targeting the most vulnerable and elderly member of the family-the grandmother. She instructed Mr. A, who was obedient to her, to confine and monitor the grandmother, and she personally visited to assault her. Ms. C threatened the grandmother with a weapon, coerced her to consider extreme actions, and even told acquaintances over the phone that she would bury the grandmother, making sure the grandmother heard these threats via speakerphone.

Ms. C also manipulated Mr. A into believing that his biological mother had died because of the grandmother, encouraging him to assault her directly. After the grandmother escaped and an investigation began, Ms. C started to manipulate the granddaughter, Ms. E, who was also very obedient to her.

When Ms. E was questioned as a witness, Ms. C made her send a message to family members in the form of a suicide note, stating that she was "afraid and did not want to live anymore" due to coercive police questioning. This was intended to put pressure on the police as the investigation closed in on Ms. C. She also asked a journalist acquaintance to publish a story alleging coercive police investigation, and instructed Mr. A to file a missing person report for his younger sister.

The court stated, "The defendants committed inhumane crimes by imprisoning the victim in the house, forcing her to kneel and apologize, threatening her with a knife, and assaulting her, resulting in injury. The victim was confined for more than six days until she managed to escape on her own, suffering significant psychological distress and injuries requiring more than four weeks of medical treatment."

The court added, "To evade punishment, defendant C fabricated a narrative that the police conducted a coercive investigation, and the false missing person report led dozens of police officers and firefighters to conduct a prolonged search, resulting in a significant waste and obstruction of public resources."