Prosecutors Plan Forced Execution of Fine on Choi Seo-won... Begin Identifying Real Estate and Deposits

Choi Says "No Money to Pay Fine" and Holds Firm

Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil), who was sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Supreme Court for the state corruption scandal [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] It has been confirmed that the prosecution is devising a method to forcibly collect a fine of 20 billion KRW from Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil), whose Supreme Court ruling in the 'state affairs manipulation' case has been finalized. To this end, they are reportedly first checking whether Choi owns any real estate or deposits.

According to the prosecution on the 15th, Choi has not paid a single won of the 20 billion KRW fine finalized by the Supreme Court in the state affairs manipulation case during the Park Geun-hye administration, with the payment deadline having passed the day before. Earlier, after the Supreme Court finalized the ruling against Choi in June, the prosecution sent two fine payment orders. The final payment deadline was until the 14th.

Choi's side is resisting, claiming "there is no money to pay the fine." They argue that the National Tax Service seized all remaining funds due to unpaid taxes during the sale of the Miseung Building in Sinsa-dong, Seoul, which Choi owns, seemingly implying "if you can find it, try to find it." On the other hand, the prosecution has identified through investigation that Choi's family assets amount to 273 billion KRW.

The prosecution plans to locate Choi's assets such as real estate and forcibly collect the fine through methods like public auction, following proper procedures. They intend to thoroughly search the assets, attaching so-called "red tags" and leaving no stone unturned. The timing for initiating forced execution has not yet been disclosed. A prosecution official stated, "We have been reviewing forced execution for some time and will proceed with execution as soon as assets are found."

If the fine is not recovered even through forced execution, Choi will be required to perform additional labor valued at 18 million KRW per day, in addition to the 18-year prison sentence confirmed by the Supreme Court. This is because the Supreme Court ruled that if the fine is not paid, Choi will be detained in a labor camp for three years. The execution of the fine sentence involving detention in the labor camp will be reviewed by the responsible prosecutor.

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