'Embezzlement of 1 Billion Won Company Funds' Jo Beom-dong's Father-in-Law Receives Suspended Prison Sentence in First Trial

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The father-in-law of Cho Beom-dong, the fifth cousin of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, was indicted on charges of embezzling over 1 billion won of company funds and hiding evidence, and was sentenced to a suspended prison term in the first trial.

According to the legal community on the 19th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 31 (Presiding Judge Cho Seong-pil) sentenced Lee (66), who was indicted on charges of embezzlement in the course of business, instructing evidence concealment, and violating the Framework Act on the Construction Industry, to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 3-year suspension.

Lee was prosecuted for embezzling a total of over 1.2 billion won, including about 800 million won from the secondary battery company WFM and about 470 million won from two construction companies he operated. It was investigated that he committed the crime in collusion with his son-in-law Cho by inflating the interior construction costs of WFM.

Lee is also accused of instructing an employee to move WFM office computers to his home in August 2019, when former Minister Cho Kuk was nominated as Minister of Justice and various suspicions arose surrounding WFM and the private equity fund operator, Kolink Private Equity (PE).

In addition, he is charged with violating the Framework Act on the Construction Industry by operating a company registered only for wet waterproofing work while actually undertaking factory construction work that required registration for civil engineering and architectural work.

The court recognized most of Lee’s charges as guilty but acquitted some embezzled amounts considering circumstances that the funds were actually used for business purposes, and thus handed down a suspended sentence. A total of about 1.01 billion won, including 750 million won from WFM, was recognized as embezzled.

The court pointed out, "Considering the method of the crime and the amount of damage, the defendant’s criminal nature is not good, and the damage to WFM has not yet been recovered."

However, it added, "Regarding the embezzlement of WFM funds, there are mitigating circumstances in light of the relationship with the son-in-law Cho, and the actual embezzled amount was acquired by Cho. Other companies that suffered embezzlement damage are effectively the defendant’s one-man companies, and the defendant has compensated for the damages."

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