Embezzled 1 Billion Won and Fled Abroad for 18 Years... Court Sentences to 6 Years Imprisonment

Seoul Central District Court / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] A man in his 60s who evaded capture for nearly 20 years without repaying over 1 billion won worth of goods has been sentenced to a heavy prison term by the court.

According to the legal community on the 15th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25-1 (Presiding Judge Kim Sun-hee) sentenced A (60), who was indicted on charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (fraud), to six years in prison. The court stated, "The crimes in this case occurred between 2002 and 2003," and criticized, "The defendant fled abroad during the investigation and trial, causing a significant waste of judicial and administrative resources to locate him." It added, "When the damage amount is calculated based on current prices, it is significantly higher than the amount at the time of the crime, but the defendant denies the charges with implausible excuses and does not sincerely reflect on his crimes."

A was charged with borrowing fabric worth about 510 million won from victim B in 2003 while operating a toilet paper manufacturing company and failing to pay for it. Around the same time, he also received business goods worth about 570 million won from another victim company C and did not pay for them. Additionally, he is accused of issuing a check worth about 120 million won from a bank and falsely reporting to the financial institution that the check was forged to avoid payment obligations, thereby falsely accusing a bank employee of check forgery.

While under investigation for these charges, A fled to China and wandered overseas before being forcibly deported from Malaysia at the end of 2008. After returning to Korea, he was arrested, confessed to some of the crimes, then retracted his confession and fled abroad again in 2009. A returned to Korea in April this year and was brought to trial.

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