"Since We're Going to Marry Anyway"... 30s Sentenced to Prison for Extorting 700 Million Won

Buying Luxury Goods with Money Taken Under the Pretext of Living Expenses and Business Funds
Court: "Not Simple Fraud but Abuse... Bad Nature of the Crime"

A man in his 30s who deceived his partner by promising marriage and extorted over 700 million won over several years was sentenced to prison. The court judged that the man's method went beyond simple fraud.

The Changwon District Court Criminal Division 2 (Chief Judge Seo Aram) announced on the 12th that it sentenced Mr. A (34), who was indicted for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (fraud), to four years in prison.

Mr. A pretended he would marry his partner, Ms. B (34), and received money from her under the pretext of living expenses and other reasons. From April 2016 to June 2020, the amount Mr. A extorted reached 717 million won.

Mr. A deceived Ms. B by fabricating that he and his family had great financial resources. He lied about running a business and extorted funds by saying, "If the husband has no business funds, shouldn't you give money?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Mr. A embezzled 299.12 million won in cash from Ms. B under the pretexts of living expenses, congratulatory and condolence money, and gift expenses. He also received one check card and four credit cards, using a total of about 431.4 million won. It was confirmed that Mr. A mostly used the cards to purchase luxury goods at department stores.

Additionally, he told Ms. B, "I need money, so let's buy a car and convert it to cash," had her purchase a foreign car, then took possession of the vehicle and used it. Although he never caused traffic accidents or used private loans, he received 300 million won in remittances under the pretexts of settlement money and loan interest.

Mr. A continued his crimes by saying, "Since we are going to get married anyway, I will settle everything later," but investigations confirmed he had neither the ability nor intention to repay. When Ms. B sent less money, he sometimes verbally abused her.

The court stated, "Mr. A’s actions go beyond simple fraud to the level of mockery and abuse of Ms. B, and the nature of the crime is very serious."

It added, "Considering that he made no particular effort to restore the damage and fled for a long time," explaining the reasons for the sentencing.

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