Court Sentences 20-Year-Old to 8 Months in Prison for 'Mask Fraud' via Naver Band

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] A man in his 20s who committed fraud by selling masks during the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea has been sentenced to prison.

Although the profit from the fraud was only about 2 million won, the court judged that the crime was very serious as it exploited the nation's difficult situation.

According to the court on the 26th, Judge Park Gyu-do of the Changwon District Court Criminal Division 7 recently sentenced Seo (28), who was tried on charges of fraud for deceiving people by selling masks that were in short supply in February but only taking their money, to eight months in prison.

Judge Park stated, "During the difficult time when the country was struggling with COVID-19 and citizens were suffering from a shortage of masks, the defendant committed a fraudulent crime by falsely claiming to sell masks. Considering the motive and the extremely poor nature of the crime, as well as the considerable number of victims, a prison sentence is inevitable."

Seo is accused of posting a fake message on the Naver Band in late February, when COVID-19 cases began to surge, claiming to sell masks but never sending the actual products, instead collecting 2.1 million won from 10 victims as payment for masks.

In addition, Seo's indictment reportedly includes other internet fraud charges he committed.

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