Shaman detained on suspicion of stealing more than 100 million won
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A shaman in her 30s has been detained on suspicion of stealing more than 100 million won ($72,000) in cash after instructing clients to offer it as ritual money to help their ancestors reach the afterlife.
According to police in Gwangju, the 36-year-old had been offering spiritual consultations and readings through social media platforms, including Instagram.
She told a 30-year-old woman that her life was not going well because her ancestors had not been able to reach enlightenment and were still wandering the afterlife. To resolve this, she claimed a ritual was needed to drive out misfortune.
She instructed the woman to bring cash as an offering, saying the money would serve as “spending funds” for the ancestors in the afterlife. The woman was told she could retrieve the money after the ritual.
On July 3, the woman met the shaman near a reservoir in Gwangju’s Gwangsan District, bringing 15 million won in cash as instructed. The shaman told her to hang the money on a tree and then walk alone along a nearby path, burning ritual papers and routinely bowing.
Once the woman walked away, the shaman took the money and left. When the woman returned and found the money missing, she questioned the shaman, who claimed not to know what had happened.
The woman reported the incident to police, who launched an investigation. During the investigation, police discovered she had used the same method on another woman in Siheung, Gyeonggi, stealing an additional 85 million won.
Police tracked down the shaman using CCTV footage and arrested her on July 31 at a hotel in southern Seoul’s Gangnam District. Roughly 40 million won in cash was recovered during the arrest. The suspect reportedly told police she had spent the rest on going out and cosmetic treatments.
Police have applied for a warrant to formally detain her on charges of theft.
Content retrieved from: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-08-02/national/socialAffairs/Shaman-detained-on-suspicion-of-stealing-more-than-100-million-won/2367227.
