"Blaming Ancestors' Karma... Gang Extracting Tens of Millions by Charging for Prayers to Solve Worries Receives Suspended Sentence"

Court: "Exploiting Victim's Mentally Unstable State... Fraud Charges Confirmed"

A group accused of deceiving people by claiming that holding a memorial ceremony to pray for ancestors' grace on the 10th would solve their problems and extorting tens of millions of won received a suspended sentence. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] A group accused of deceiving victims into believing that performing ancestral rites would resolve their worries and embezzling tens of millions of won in prayer money received suspended sentences in the appellate court as well.

The Jeonju District Court's 1st Criminal Division (Chief Judge Kang Dong-won) announced on the 10th that in the appeal trial of Mr. A (63), who was indicted on charges of fraud, both the defendant's and the prosecution's appeals were dismissed, maintaining the original sentence of 10 months imprisonment with a 2-year suspension. Mr. B (41), also indicted on the same charges, had his original sentence of 6 months imprisonment with a 1-year suspension upheld.

Previously, the first trial court recognized the fraud charges, stating, "The defendants' method of crime caused significant harm to the victims and those around them, making it unacceptable."

The defendant appealed on grounds of factual error and inappropriate sentencing, while the prosecution appealed citing inappropriate sentencing.

The appellate court stated, "The defendants approached and deceived the victim knowing that the victim was in a very unstable mental state," adding, "They threatened the victim by saying misfortune would come if offerings were not made, and through this method, repeatedly caused the victim to transfer nearly all of their assets, which is a very serious offense."

However, the court explained the sentencing rationale, saying, "The original sentence, which sufficiently considered the circumstances argued by both the defendants and the prosecution in their appeals, does not appear excessively harsh or lenient," and "Also, considering that the defendants did not personally benefit from the money received from the victim but delivered it to the relevant religious foundation."

Mr. A and others were indicted for embezzling 30.5 million won in cash from victim Mr. C over about a month and a half from January 9 to February 25, 2019, under the pretext of prayer and offering money.

Investigations revealed that they were believers active at a prayer site managed by a religious group. Mr. A and others deceived victim Mr. C, whom they met during evangelism activities, by saying, "There is much ancestral karma, and a calamity caused by illness will come," and "To escape this, you must pay money and offer prayers and rites," thereby extorting money from him.

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