First Trial of Osstem Implant Employee for Embezzlement of 221.5 Billion Won to Begin as Early as March

Case Assigned to Criminal Division 14 of Seoul Nambu District Court
Trial Expected to Begin After Regular Judicial Personnel Changes This Month

Lee Mo, who is accused of embezzling 221.5 billion KRW from Osstem Implant, is being transferred to the prosecution from Gangseo Police Station in Seoul on the 14th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The first trial of Lee Mo (45, detained), the finance team leader of Osstem Implant who has been indicted on charges of embezzling 221.5 billion won of company funds, is expected to begin as early as early March.

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office Financial and Securities Crime Investigation Cooperation Team (Head Park Sung-hoon) arrested and indicted Lee on the 28th of last month on charges of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. The Seoul Southern District Court assigned the case to Criminal Division 14 (Chief Judge Kim Dong-hyun).

Lee, while serving as the finance team leader of Osstem Implant, is accused of transferring 221.5 billion won in 15 installments from the company’s account containing company funds to a securities account under his own name from November 2020 to October last year, and using it for personal stock investments. Of the embezzled 221.5 billion won, 33.5 billion won was returned to the company after withdrawal, making the damage amount 188 billion won.

However, no trial (preparatory) date has been separately set yet. Since there will be a regular judge personnel reshuffle on the 21st, the trial date is expected to be assigned according to the schedule of the trial court after that.

To prevent damage to small shareholders, the prosecution is making every effort to recover the damages, including returning 855 gold bars (855 kg) worth approximately 69 billion won at market price, which Lee purchased with the embezzled funds, to the company before the final verdict.

The court also plans to set the first trial date as soon as possible, considering this atmosphere. Accordingly, the first trial date is highly likely to be set around early March after the judge personnel reshuffle is completed at the end of February.

Separately, since the police investigation into whether Lee’s family and company executives and employees conspired in the crime is still ongoing, there is concern that the trial may be prolonged if additional indictments occur during the trial process.

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