Court: Lawyer Misusing Client Assets for Children's Tuition, Suspended Prison Sentence Given

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] A lawyer who was handed over to trial for using a client's assets for living expenses and children's education costs was sentenced to a suspended prison term.

According to the legal community on the 14th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Yang Cheol-han) sentenced lawyer A (55), who was indicted for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (embezzlement), to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 3-year suspension.

The court stated, "The defendant arbitrarily used money held in trust for his client during work, betraying the client's trust as a lawyer, and the amount embezzled is not insignificant."

However, it added, "Considering that the defendant reimbursed the amount of damage and reached a settlement, and that the victim does not wish for punishment, the sentence was determined accordingly."

In December 2017, Mr. A signed a contract with Mr. B, who entrusted him with the authority to conclude a sales contract and receive payment for a ranch located in Gangwon-do.

Accordingly, Mr. A, who was in charge of receiving the payment for the ranch, is accused of receiving 1 billion KRW of the remaining transfer payment from a person who intended to buy the ranch into an account under his own name the following year and personally using 963 million KRW for stock trading, credit card payments, living expenses, and other personal uses.

It was also investigated that he used the amount to cover tuition fees for his child studying abroad.

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