'24.6 Billion Embezzlement' Kyeyang Electric Employee's First Trial "I Admit All Charges"

Court: "If additional indictment for concealment of criminal proceeds under prosecution investigation occurs, joint trial will be conducted"

A man in his 30s, Kim Mo, an employee accused of embezzling 24.5 billion KRW of company funds over six years from Kyeyang Electric, a KOSPI-listed company.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

An employee accused of embezzling hundreds of billions of won from Gyeyang Electric, a KOSPI-listed company, admitted all charges at the first trial.

On the 28th at 10 a.m., the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 23 (Presiding Judge Jo Byeong-gu) held the first hearing for Kim (35, male), who was indicted on charges of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

On this day, Kim's defense attorney stated in court, "We admit all the charges." Kim, dressed in a green prison uniform, also responded "Yes" when the court asked if he admitted the charges.

It is understood that Kim is currently under separate investigation by the prosecution for hiding criminal proceeds. The court plans to consolidate and hear the embezzlement case together if Kim is additionally indicted on related charges in the future. The court said, "Since there is a separate case, the evidence investigation will be conducted together once the indictment is made."

The court also asked Kim's side to inform them of any progress if the embezzled money can be returned or compensated to the company, stating, "Since all charges are admitted, circumstances related to sentencing need to be confirmed." The defense replied, "We are collecting materials," and added, "The defendant is in custody, so we need time to wait for the family's help." The court set the second trial date for 10 a.m. on the 26th of next month to review evidence and sentencing materials.

Previously, Kim was prosecuted on charges of embezzling approximately 24.6 billion won in company funds by transferring money a total of 925 times from the company’s account to his own between 2016 and 2022 while working as a deputy manager in the finance team of the management support department at Gyeyang Electric. This amount corresponds to 12.7% of Gyeyang Electric’s equity capital of 192.6 billion won.

Investigations revealed that Kim mostly squandered the embezzled money on overseas cryptocurrency exchange futures options, stocks, gambling on UK gambling sites, and living expenses. However, Kim voluntarily returned 3.7 billion won of the embezzled funds to the company. After Gyeyang Electric disclosed Kim’s criminal acts, trading of Gyeyang Electric’s shares has been suspended.

Meanwhile, on the 17th of last month, the Seoul Central District Court approved the prosecution’s request for pre-indictment seizure and confiscation of assets worth approximately 609 million won, including the balance of Kim’s embezzled funds account and an apartment deposit. Pre-indictment seizure and confiscation is a measure to prevent a suspect from disposing of assets subject to confiscation before a final verdict is rendered.

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