Poured Hot Water on and Beat Her ... Singer-YouTuber Sentenced to 25 Years for 'Murder of Her Own Daughter'

A singer and YouTuber was sentenced to 25 years in prison for assaulting and neglecting her biological daughter, causing her death.

On October 8, the First Criminal Division of the Jinju Branch of the Changwon District Court in South Gyeongsang Province, presided over by Judge Lee Seung-il, sentenced A, a woman in her 40s who had been indicted and detained on charges including murder, to 25 years in prison.

According to the court, A is accused of taking her daughter B, a university student on leave, with her while she worked renting out broadcast equipment in September 2025, then assaulting B at a residence in Namhae County and leaving her in a vehicle for more than two days, resulting in her death.

Investigators found that A poured hot water on B, causing serious injuries, including a laceration to her scalp and burns.

It was also found that, in February 2025, B reported A for domestic violence. A believed the report had caused the breakdown of their common-law relationship and continued to verbally and physically abuse B.

The court noted, "A believed that B had failed to properly carry out tasks A had assigned her, embarrassing A as a result. But that is a trivial reason for the cruel acts she inflicted on her own daughter."

It added, "A claims that B's injuries resulted from falling on her own and being burned while boiling water. However, a forensic pathologist concluded that the injuries were caused by another person's actions. The timing of the injuries was also determined to be several days before B died, based on testimony from people around her, CCTV footage, photographs and other evidence."

The court said, "B was psychologically controlled through physical and verbal abuse and could not ask anyone else for help. Even in those circumstances, she desperately waited for A to help her." It added, "Nevertheless, A has failed to properly admit to the crime and is evading responsibility."

The court also said, "A injured another victim, C, with whom she was in a common-law relationship, by beating C with a wooden club and throwing scissors at C, and also damaged C's mobile phone." It explained its sentencing decision by noting, "The crimes are serious, as A committed the same kind of offense despite having previously been fined for a similar crime."

Earlier, at the final hearing in the case on September 10, prosecutors sought the death penalty, the maximum sentence under the law, for A.

Prosecutors said at the time, "A became delusional, believing that her biological daughter B had embarrassed her in her social life. She struck B several times with a wooden club and poured hot water on the crown of her head, causing second-degree burns on parts of her body." They added, "Even though B repeatedly pleaded that she could not breathe, A left her unattended."

Prosecutors also said, "Despite committing a cruel and inhumane crime, A denied the crime and evaded responsibility without showing remorse throughout the year-long period from the investigation through the trial. Given her history of assaulting a former common-law partner, she also poses a high risk of reoffending, making permanent separation from society necessary." They cited this as the reason for seeking the death penalty.

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