Supreme Court Confirms 15-Year Sentence for Former MBG Chairman Im Dong-pyo in 89 Billion Won Fraud Case

by Kim Daehyun

Published 10 Feb.2021 07:17(KST)

Supreme Court, Seocho-dong, Seoul / Photo by Honam Moon munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Former MBG Chairman Lim Dongpyo, who was indicted for an investment fraud amounting to 89 billion KRW involving over 1,600 people, has been sentenced to a heavy prison term.

On the 10th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Min Yusook) announced that it upheld the lower court's ruling sentencing former Chairman Lim to 15 years in prison and a fine of 500 million KRW in the final appeal trial on charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (fraud).

The court stated, "The lower court did not err in its legal interpretation regarding the operation of a multi-level marketing organization, fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, and violations of the Capital Markets Act due to unreported securities sales."

Former Chairman Lim was charged with repeatedly making false and exaggerated advertisements claiming that he had secured development rights for a nickel mine in Indonesia and received investments worth about 1.8 trillion KRW from global companies, creating the appearance that the stock could be listed, and from October 2014 to January 2019, collecting investment funds from victims and embezzling them.

However, the mining development rights had expired, and the claims of receiving investments from global companies were false. Approximately 1,600 victims were affected, with investment losses totaling 88.3 billion KRW.

The first trial sentenced former Chairman Lim to 15 years in prison and a fine of 50 billion KRW.

The second trial maintained the prison sentence but reduced the fine by 4.95 billion KRW to 500 million KRW, emphasizing that the proceeds from the crime should be returned to the victims first.