Two Men in Their 30s Sentenced for Attempted Kidnapping After High School Friend's Luxurious Life on Instagram...

Leading the Crime by Employing Even Chinese Ethnic Koreans
Court: "Suspended Sentence Is Excessively Lenient"

Seoul Central District Court / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Sung-pil] Men in their 30s who mobilized Chinese-Korean compatriots to kidnap a high school classmate and extort money were sentenced to prison.

According to the legal community on the 1st, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 5 (Chief Judge Yoon Kang-yeol) sentenced Choi Mo (31) and Kang Mo (31), who were indicted for attempted special robbery, to 1 year and 6 months in prison and detained them in court. The first trial sentenced them to 2 years and 6 months in prison with a 3-year probation. The appellate court stated, "It is excessively lenient and unfair to impose a suspended sentence solely because Choi and Kang have no significant criminal records and show remorse."

Choi and others were tried on charges of attempting to kidnap their high school classmate A in January this year to extort money, but the attempt failed. They committed the crime after seeing A post pictures of luxury foreign cars on Instagram and live a lavish lifestyle. It was believed that A had made a large amount of money by operating an illegal sports Toto gambling site. In particular, Choi and others are known to have planned the crime systematically by hiring Chinese-Korean compatriots. They are also accused of stealing 2 million won in cash and credit cards from A's vehicle and fleeing when A resisted, causing the plan to fail.

The court recognized all charges against them as guilty. The appellate court pointed out, "The defendants planned the crime in advance, divided roles, and attempted to forcibly kidnap the victim," adding, "Considering the circumstances, means, and methods of the crime, the nature of the offense is serious." It further stated, "The victim suffered significant psychological shock from this crime and demands strict punishment," and "Choi and Kang, who planned and led the crime from the beginning, bear heavier responsibility."

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