Embezzlement of 5 Billion Won Twice and Restored... Possibility of Planned Crime in Osstem Case

A police officer is escorting Lee Mo (45), an employee of Osstem Implant accused of embezzling 188 billion won of company funds, into the Gangseo Police Station in Seoul on the morning of the 6th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] It has been confirmed that Lee Mo (45), the head of the finance management team at Osstem Implant who embezzled 188 billion KRW of company funds, initially tested the accounting system by withdrawing and then returning 5 billion KRW twice while planning the crime. After withdrawing large sums twice and returning them, he boldly embezzled 140 billion KRW all at once in the end.

According to a report by Yonhap News on the 7th, Lee’s arrest warrant prepared by the police contains details of this crime process. In March of last year, Lee transferred 5 billion KRW from the company’s funds to his own account and then returned it to the company account. Shortly after, he withdrew another 5 billion KRW once more and restored it.

This 10 billion KRW is a newly confirmed amount during the police investigation. It is not included in the 188 billion KRW embezzlement amount disclosed by Osstem Implant on the 3rd.

Accordingly, the total amount Lee embezzled from Osstem Implant increases to 198 billion KRW. However, since Lee returned 10 billion KRW, the company’s damage amount remains at 188 billion KRW.

Lee’s crime, in which he faced no control while withdrawing and returning 10 billion KRW, became increasingly bold afterward. Having withdrawn 48 billion KRW in five installments of several billion KRW each, he transferred 140 billion KRW to his own account at once in October last year. The police view this as evidence that Lee did not embezzle impulsively but planned the crime deliberately.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the real estate Lee purchased under borrowed names with the embezzled funds amounts to a total of 7.5 billion KRW. He bought an apartment and officetel in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, under his wife’s name for 2.89 billion KRW. Under his sister-in-law’s name, he purchased an apartment in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, for 1.65 billion KRW. He also bought a luxury resort membership in Jeju Island worth about 3 billion KRW under his wife’s name.

The police plan to apply for seizure and confiscation preservation of these properties before prosecution.

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