"Pastor Involved in Voice Phishing Citing 'No Congregation'... Sentence Increased in Second Trial"

First Trial Suspended Sentence Revoked
Sentenced to 2 Years Imprisonment

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] A church pastor, who was left financially destitute due to a long period without congregants and ended up acting as a cash collector for voice phishing schemes, was sentenced to imprisonment in the appellate court.

The Seoul Western District Court Criminal Appeals Division 1-3 (Presiding Judge An Jonghwa, Judges Kim Dokyun, Choi Eunju) announced on the 20th that it overturned the first trial’s sentence of 3 years imprisonment with 4 years probation and ordered 120 hours of community service and probation for Lee (54), who was charged with fraud, forgery of private documents, and use of forged private documents, and instead sentenced him to 2 years imprisonment.

The court stated, “The defendant, driven by greed for allowances, rashly participated in the crime as a cash collector and delivery agent for voice phishing, even going so far as to forge and use documents,” and added, “Although he suspected the illegality of the act, he did not stop the crime.”

It continued, “There are 14 victims in this case, with damages exceeding 280 million won. Although settlements were reached with 7 victims, the damages have not been fully compensated, and forgiveness was not obtained from the remaining victims,” and explained the sentencing rationale by saying, “The sentence imposed by the original court was too lenient and unjust.”

Previously, the first trial court had stated, “Voice phishing crimes cause irreparable harm to victims and need to be strictly punished,” but also noted, “It appears that the defendant had been struggling to pastor a non-self-sustaining church with almost no registered believers for a long time along with his family, facing severe hardship,” and thus sentenced Lee to probation.

In response, the prosecution filed an appeal, arguing that the sentence was too light.

Lee posted a job-seeking advertisement on an internet job site in early October 2020, and after being contacted via mobile messenger by an organizer, he received a proposal along the lines of “It’s a job to deliver money. You will receive 2% of the delivered amount as profit.”

Lee was indicted on charges of pretending to be a bank employee and receiving 20 million won from a victim at a parking lot in Jungnang-gu, Seoul, on November 17 of the same year, using a “payment confirmation” document received from the organizer, and handing the money over to the organization. He is also accused of receiving and delivering over 280 million won from victims in 14 separate instances until December.

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