A 50-Year-Old CEO Embezzled Hundreds of Thousands of Masks Worth Billions of Won... What Was the First Trial Verdict?

Fraud Allegations

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] A man in his 50s who absconded with 600,000 masks and embezzled several hundred million won by claiming to have received orders for mask production machines was sentenced to prison in the first trial.

On the 21st, Judge Jang Young-chae of the Criminal Division 2 at the Seoul Western District Court announced that he sentenced A (55) to 2 years and 6 months in prison on the 11th for fraud charges.

A is accused of receiving 600,000 KF94 masks (worth about 150 million won) from the victim around March 19 last year and failing to pay for them. According to the prosecution, the defendant provided the masks as collateral to others and borrowed money intending to use it for company operating expenses and debt repayment, but had no intention or ability to pay the agreed amount by the deadline through mask sales.

Additionally, since around June 2020, A is also accused of defrauding two victims four times by saying, "I am scheduled to deliver 10 sets of mask production machines, and if you invest 200 million won, I will pay investment returns."

The court pointed out, "The defendant embezzled a total of 520 million won and 600,000 masks worth about 150 million won from the victims, so the nature of the crime is not light," and added, "The defendant has neither reimbursed the victims nor reached a settlement, and the victims are petitioning for severe punishment against the defendant."

However, the court explained the sentencing reasoning, stating, "The defendant has no prior criminal record exceeding fines or similar offenses and confessed to the fraud," and also noted the need to provide the defendant with an opportunity to compensate the victims, thus the defendant was not detained in court.

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