'1 Trillion Won Fund Fraud' Optimus Kim Jaehyun Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison... Prosecutors "Considering Appeal" (Comprehensive)

Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The prosecution is reviewing whether to appeal the sentence against Kim Jaehyun, CEO of Optimus Asset Management, who was sentenced to a heavy prison term in the first trial on charges of a fund fraud worth over 1 trillion won.

On the 20th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office stated, "We will carefully analyze the verdict to ensure that the defendants, who caused enormous damage to many innocent ordinary citizens, receive appropriate punishment commensurate with their crimes, and then consider filing an appeal."

Earlier that day, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 34 (Presiding Judge Heo Seonah) sentenced Kim, who was detained and indicted on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, to 25 years in prison and a fine of 500 million won. They also ordered the confiscation of 75.175 billion won.

The court sentenced Lee Dongyeol, the second-largest shareholder of Optimus, and director Yoon Seokho to eight years in prison each. In addition to imprisonment, Lee was fined 300 million won and ordered to pay 5.175 billion won in confiscation, while Yoon was fined 200 million won.

Kim and others were prosecuted on charges of raising approximately 1.3526 trillion won from investors from April 2018 to June last year by claiming to invest in public institution accounts receivable, then using the funds for acquiring bad debts and rolling over the fund. The confirmed number of victims reaches 3,200, and considering that some are corporations and organizations, the actual number of affected parties is estimated to be higher. The amount of unrecovered damages amounts to 554.2 billion won. In the previous sentencing hearing, the prosecution requested life imprisonment for Kim, 25 years in prison for Lee, and 20 years in prison for Yoon, respectively.

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