Dream Life Mutual Aid Company Accused of Embezzling 700 Million Won in Cancellation Fees... Prosecutors File Charges

Fair Trade Commission: "Strict Sanctions for Funeral Service Companies Violating Laws Even After Closure"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Fair Trade Commission announced on the 2nd that it will file a criminal complaint against the funeral service company Dream Life and its CEO for failing to return approximately 700 million KRW in cancellation refunds to customers. The complaint is based on violations of the Installment Transactions Act.

Dream Life did not pay 690,497,000 KRW in refunds for 390 funeral service contracts that had been requested for cancellation.

This action violated Article 25, Paragraph 4 of the Installment Transactions Act, which requires refund payments within three business days upon contract cancellation.

Additionally, it falls under the prohibited acts stipulated in Article 34, Item 11 of the same law, which regulates delaying or refusing to take appropriate measures without justifiable reasons after a consumer cancels a contract.

Dream Life operated by depositing only 225,820,000 KRW, which is just 3.79% of the 5,963,030,000 KRW received from consumers.

According to Article 34, Item 9 of the Installment Transactions Act, funeral service companies must deposit 50% of the amount received from consumers in financial institutions.

To reduce the deposit amount, Dream Life also submitted false documents to financial institutions, violating Article 27, Paragraph 10 of the Installment Transactions Act.

Dream Life ceased operations on March 4th without returning the refund money to customers.

The Fair Trade Commission filed a criminal complaint against Dream Life's corporation and CEO, issued payment and prohibition orders demanding immediate payment of refunds and delayed compensation, and decided to impose a fine of 4 million KRW.

Lee Seunghye, head of the Installment Transactions Division at the Fair Trade Commission, stated, "Considering that the unpaid cancellation refunds exceeded 690 million KRW, causing significant damage, we decided to file a criminal complaint. Going forward, even if funeral service companies go out of business, the Fair Trade Commission will strictly sanction illegal activities to ensure that legal obligations to consumers are fully fulfilled."

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