Gangdong-gu Office Official Embezzled 11.5 Billion Won... 'Recovery Is Difficult'

Gangdong-gu Office Official's Asset Seizure Preservation Application
Account Balance and Real Estate Total '570 Million Won'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The police have applied for pre-indictment seizure and confiscation preservation on the assets of a Seoul Gangdong-gu Office official accused of embezzling 11.5 billion KRW of public funds, but it is expected to be difficult to recover the remaining damage amount of about 7.1 billion KRW.

On the 4th, the Seoul Gangdong Police Station announced that in the afternoon, they applied for the first pre-indictment seizure and confiscation preservation on approximately 570 million KRW worth of account balances and some real estate owned by Kim (age 47), a grade 7 public official accused of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (embezzlement in the course of duty). The police plan to identify additional assets and apply for a second pre-indictment seizure and confiscation preservation.

Pre-indictment seizure and confiscation preservation is a freezing measure taken during the investigation stage before the prosecution files charges, preventing the suspect from arbitrarily disposing of assets obtained through crime. If seizure is not possible, the equivalent value is confiscated. The police plan to identify additional assets and apply for a second pre-indictment seizure and confiscation preservation.

Since the amount for which the police applied for seizure preservation is only 570 million KRW, it is expected to be difficult to recover the remaining damage amount. A police official stated, "Recovery can only be done when possible, so there is no method in impossible situations."

The Gangdong-gu Office is also focusing on recovering the public funds, but it has been confirmed that there is no effective method. A Gangdong-gu Office official said, "We are working closely with the police to find ways to recover the funds," and added, "We plan to comprehensively inspect and supplement the fund management and operation system."

Meanwhile, Kim is accused of embezzling 11.5 billion KRW of public funds from the Gangdong-gu Office's waste disposal facility installation project multiple times from December 2019 to February last year. Kim reportedly re-deposited 3.8 billion KRW of the embezzled amount into the district office account around May 2020. He also told the police that he used the remaining 7.7 billion KRW entirely for stock investments. Accordingly, on the 3rd, the Gangdong Police Station transferred Kim to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office 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.

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