Prosecutors Initiate Refund Procedure for 3.2 Billion Won Seized in Jo Hee-pal Case

Jo Hee-pal. Photo by SBS from the broadcast screen of 'Unanswered Questions'

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The prosecution has initiated the restitution procedure for criminal proceeds confiscated and held in connection with the Jo Hee-pal case.

On the 10th, the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office announced that it has commenced the restitution procedure under the Act on the Forfeiture of Corrupt Proceeds for 3.2 billion won in cash, which was confiscated and held as criminal proceeds in the Jo Hee-pal illegal multi-level marketing case.

The Jo Hee-pal case was a large-scale fraudulent quasi-deposit scheme that took place mainly in Daegu and Incheon from June 2006 to October 2008. The number of victims nationwide reached about 70,000, and the total damage exceeded 5 trillion won.

This confiscated amount is the profit gained through embezzlement and breach of trust by 13 financial multi-level marketing corporations and creditors related to the Jo Hee-pal fraud case. According to the Act on the Forfeiture of Corrupt Proceeds, the funds will be returned not to the individual investors who are the actual victims of the Jo Hee-pal quasi-deposit multi-level marketing fraud, but to the related corporations, etc.

The actual victims, individual investors, can receive compensation for their damages through provisional seizure and debt collection on the restitution claims of the corporations, etc., who will receive the funds from the prosecution.

Meanwhile, in relation to the Jo Hee-pal quasi-deposit fraud case, the prosecution indicted a total of 77 people, including Kang Tae-yong, known as the 'second-in-command' of the Jo Hee-pal organization from 2014 to 2016. Kang Tae-yong's 22-year prison sentence was finalized by the Supreme Court in 2017.

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