"Threatened to 'Disrupt Construction' to Extort Hundreds of Millions... Construction Union Officials Sentenced to Prison"

Two union executives who extorted hundreds of millions of won from construction companies by threatening them at construction sites were sentenced to prison.

Judge Kim Dong-hee of the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 18 sentenced A (45), the vice chairman of a construction union, and B (61), the branch chief, who were detained and indicted on charges including joint extortion under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, to 2 years and 4 months and 1 year and 6 months in prison, respectively, at the sentencing hearing held on the 30th.

Judge Kim stated the sentencing reasons, saying, "There is social harm caused by the defendants' crimes," and "Considering the bad nature of the crime, the large amount of damage, and the fact that the damage has not been restored."

A and others were detained and indicted on charges of extorting approximately 146.5 million won and 108.5 million won, respectively, from construction companies at construction sites in the metropolitan area including Incheon from June 2020 to December last year by threatening them.

They demanded money under the pretext of collective agreement fees or donations, and if refused, threatened to disrupt construction by holding rallies, thereby collecting money. The construction union to which A and others belonged was confirmed to be a so-called "ghost union" composed only of family members and acquaintances.

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