The victim’s family begged for leniency for the perpetrators.
The June 28 episode of SBS‘s investigative program Unanswered Questions reported a horrifying case of a woman being burned to death by a shaman in an alleged exorcism ritual.
The victim, identified as Lee Soo Yeon (alias), was in her 30s. The incident occurred at a well-known barbecue restaurant in Incheon, known for never being closed, even during the holidays. In January last year, however, the restaurant shut down suddenly, and the couple who ran it, Lee’s parents, disappeared. When it reopened, a new owner named Kim, a woman in her 70s, took over the place. Lee reportedly stayed behind with her brother to continue running the business.
On September 18 last year, on the final day of the Chuseok holiday, Lee died from collapsing onto burning charcoal. Her parents apparently told neighbors that she had been working too hard and had accidentally fallen into the charcoal, suffering fatal burns. At that time, her death was thought to be a tragic accident by everyone.
However, when the police started investigating Lee’s death, they obtained CCTV footage of the restaurant from the day of Lee’s death. In the security tape, Lee was spotted on the second floor of the restaurant with her three children and another man. That afternoon, a metal structure was set up on the second floor, and Lee was seen climbing onto it. Once she lay face down on the structure, Kim’s son placed a basin of burning charcoal underneath in. Lee’s ankles and wrists were bound, and her mouth was gagged as the heat underneath was constantly cranked up with more charcoal added periodically. She eventually passed away from multiple organ failure caused by severe burns.
According to a friend of Lee, she had talked about her aunt being a “very powerful shaman” and that she had to do “whatever the aunt told her.”
This revelation led to the discovery that Kim, who orchestrated the incident, was a shaman and also Lee’s aunt. The other perpetrators involved in her murder were her cousins. The accused claimed that the act was a ritual to exorcise evil spirits that were possessing Lee and insisted that they never intended for Lee to die.
When the truth was uncovered, Lee’s family also reportedly asked for leniency for the perpetrators. They believe that she was possessed by spirits and saw her death as a tragic accident, not murder.
The case has sparked heated debates among viewers, compelling them to think whether an incident like this should be considered an exorcism gone wrong or torture.
What are your thoughts?
