Couple Who Extorted 8.7 Billion Won Through 'Fake Shaman' Scheme Also Indicted for Perjury

Falsely Accusing Victim of 'Child Abduction'
in Attempt to Pressure Complaint Withdrawal

A couple who psychologically controlled a victim and his spouse by impersonating a fictitious shaman and extorted a large sum of money have been additionally indicted on charges of falsely accusing the victim of 'child abduction.'

The Women's and Children's Crime Investigation Department of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (headed by Chief Prosecutor Lee Juhyun) announced on the 24th that it had indicted Jang, a woman in her 40s, and her husband Shim on charges of perjury. The couple, Jang and Shim, are currently serving prison sentences after being convicted of fraud and blackmail under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, as well as coercing others to produce sexual recordings under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes.

Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office. Photo by Ji-ye Lee

According to prosecutors, the couple was referred to trial for filing a false report against victim A and the victim's mother-in-law — both of whom had reported the couple to authorities — by accusing them of child abduction in an attempt to pressure them to drop their original complaint.

In September 2019, the couple instructed victim A to "take Jang and Shim's child out of school and play with them," claiming it was the "mission of shaman Jo Malrae." They then spread a false rumor among school staff that A was attempting to kidnap the child. After fabricating the rumor and making it appear legitimate, they filed criminal complaints last April against A for profit-motivated abduction and luring of minors under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. They also filed a complaint against A's mother-in-law for incitement to commit profit-motivated abduction and luring under the same law.

Prosecutors reviewed both the dismissed case of the couple's attempted abduction and luring of a minor and the referred case of child abuse, and began a supplementary investigation. They explained that they were able to prove the perjury charge after recovering deleted KakaoTalk messages through search and seizure, questioning additional witnesses, and conducting a comprehensive analysis of related case records. A prosecution official stated, "We will continue to respond firmly to exploitation crimes involving gaslighting and perjury cases that undermine the judicial system, while also making every effort to support the recovery and rights of victims who have suffered psychological domination."

Meanwhile, on the 14th, Jang and Shim were sentenced to 20 years and 17 years in prison, respectively, for psychologically controlling the victim, forcing the filming of sexual videos, and then using these videos to extort approximately 8.7 billion won from the victim.

Additionally, on the 3rd, the couple was each sentenced to 8 years in prison for coercing the victim's husband, the head of a home appliance company, into embezzling company funds totaling 6,587,000,000 won under the pretense of "money needed for a ritual offering."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.