South Korea: pastor convicted after fatal 'laying-on-of-hands' exorcism prayer on a fasting congregant

Proceedings

1. 2020-02-07 · conviction and sentence, upheld on appeal

   Suwon District Court, Criminal Division 11, South Korea. A pastor identified only as 'A,' during a laying-on-of-hands exorcism prayer session on Feb. 7, 2020, struck a 24-year-old man (on leave from military service and seeking counseling for service-related stress, and made to fast for days beforehand to 'expel demons') with a cross and strangled him, while his wife and a second pastor couple restrained the victim's limbs. The Suwon District Court convicted the pastor of assault resulting in death (폭행치사) and sentenced him to four years' imprisonment; the Suwon High Court upheld the conviction and sentence on appeal in February 2021.

Documented coercion mechanisms

• directing a distressed congregant to fast for days before the ritual as spiritual preparation
• physical restraint of the victim's limbs by the pastor's wife and a second pastor couple during the ritual
• striking and strangling the victim while framing the violence as expelling demons