Academy Director Asks Teen Student to Invest in Cryptocurrency... Threatens with Weapon After Loss

Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] A cram school director who threatened a student with a weapon after asking the student to invest in cryptocurrency and incurring losses was sentenced to a suspended prison term.

On the 14th, according to the legal community, the Daejeon District Court Criminal Division 2 (Chief Judge Sangsoo Choi) sentenced A (48), who was indicted on charges of special intimidation and coercion, to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 2-year suspension.

A is accused of asking B, a teenage student attending his lecture in 2017, to invest in Bitcoin, and after losses occurred, threatening B with a weapon. At the time, A, who was experiencing financial difficulties running the cram school, heard about B’s Bitcoin profits and, wanting to make money, gave B 20 million won, telling him it was okay whether he made a profit or a loss.

However, as time passed and the price of Bitcoin fell, B lost a significant amount of A’s money. A then called B to the cram school, verbally abused him, placed a weapon on the desk, and demanded that B take responsibility for the losses. Furthermore, A went to B’s school classroom and threatened him by mentioning legal action.

Chief Judge Choi stated, “The defendant’s guilt is serious and the victim suffered considerable mental distress,” but also noted, “Considering that the defendant’s financial situation was very poor when the threats escalated and that he showed remorse and regret,” as reasons for sentencing. Meanwhile, it is reported that A has appealed the verdict.

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