'61.4 Billion Embezzlement' Woori Bank Employee and Younger Brother's First Trial Today

Employee A of Woori Bank, accused of embezzling 61.4 billion won of company funds.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The first trial of a Woori Bank employee and his younger brother, who are accused of embezzling company funds worth around 60 billion KRW, is set to take place.

At 11:40 a.m. on the 10th, the Criminal Division 24 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jo Yongrae) will conduct the first trial of three defendants, including Woori Bank employee Mr. A (43), who has been indicted on charges of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and property concealment abroad under the Act on the Regulation of Concealment of Crime Proceeds.

Mr. A and his younger brother Mr. B (41) are accused of embezzling approximately 61.4 billion KRW, which was kept in Woori Bank accounts, by arbitrarily withdrawing the funds in three installments from October 2012 to June 2018 and using them for personal purposes such as stock index option trading. They were sent to trial in custody on the 24th of last month.

After receiving Mr. A and Mr. B from the police on the 6th of last month, the prosecution additionally uncovered that the two transferred about 5 billion KRW to accounts of paper companies established overseas, disguised as payment for goods transactions, without reporting overseas direct investment or foreign currency deposit transactions from January 2013 to November 2014. This charge was also included in the indictment.

In Mr. A’s case, from October 2015 to June 2018, he is also charged with forging documents under the name of certain committees or public corporations to justify the withdrawals and using the forged documents (forgery and use of forged official documents, forgery and use of forged private documents).

Individual investor Mr. C (48), who received about 1.6 billion KRW of the embezzled funds from Mr. A under the pretext of payment for investment information, knowing it was criminal proceeds, was also arrested and indicted for violating the Act on the Regulation of Concealment of Crime Proceeds.

The prosecution requested seizure and preservation of assets worth about 6.5 billion KRW under the names of Mr. A, Mr. B, and their family members at the police’s request.

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