'11.5 Billion Embezzlement' Gangdong-gu Office Official "No Accomplices"... Transferred to Prosecution

"District Office Staff and Family Unaware of Embezzlement"
Police to Conduct Additional Family Investigation

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Kim Mo (47), a Grade 7 official at Gangdong-gu Office accused of embezzling 11.5 billion KRW of public funds, has been handed over to the prosecution in custody. Kim admitted to acting alone, stating there were no accomplices during the transfer process.

On the 3rd, the Gangdong Police Station in Seoul transferred Kim to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office at around 7:40 a.m. on five charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (embezzlement in the course of duty), forgery of official documents, use of forged official documents, and fabrication and use of false official documents.

As Kim left the police station and boarded the transport vehicle, he responded to reporters' questions about whether there were any accomplices by saying there were none. When asked if any district office employees or family members knew about the embezzlement, he also answered no.

However, he remained silent when asked whether he started embezzlement to cover stock losses and whether he invested the entire 7.7 billion KRW in stocks.

Kim is accused of diverting 11.5 billion KRW sent by the Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH) as a fund for building a resource circulation center, transferring the money from the district office account to his own account over approximately 230 transactions during 15 months starting in 2019.

Of the 11.5 billion KRW embezzled, 3.8 billion KRW was returned by Kim to the district office account, while 7.7 billion KRW remains unaccounted for. Police investigations revealed that a significant portion of the missing 7.7 billion KRW was spent on stock investments and other uses.

Meanwhile, the police plan to continue investigating the possibility of accomplices. One family member has already been summoned for questioning, and further investigations are ongoing for two others. A police official stated, "Although the suspect claims to have acted alone, we are continuing to investigate the possibility of accomplices based on the use of accounts under the names of the suspect’s family members."

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