"Will Open Hospital"... Doctor Who Took Subsidies After Promise Sentenced to Prison

New Commercial Building Developer and Pharmacist Embezzle 900 Million Won
Appeal Court Sentences 3 Years Imprisonment... Prior Similar Crime Record Also Noted

A doctor who received several hundred million won in opening support funds from a newly constructed commercial building developer despite having personal debts and lacking the ability to properly operate a hospital was sentenced to imprisonment again in the appellate court.

According to the legal community on the 30th, the Criminal Division 1 of the Suwon High Court (Presiding Judges Park Seon-jun, Jeong Hyeon-sik, Bae Yoon-gyeong) sentenced Dr. A, a man in his 50s, to three years in prison, the same as the original trial, on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and fraud. In addition, Mr. B, a hospital consulting businessman who was indicted together with Dr. A, was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison.

Suwon District Court

Dr. A, an orthopedic specialist, conspired with hospital opening consultant Mr. B to sign a commercial lease contract with a developer of a newly constructed commercial building in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province in November 2020, and embezzled a total of about 860 million won under the pretext of hospital operation support funds such as interior construction costs. Dr. A and others exploited the fact that the developer was trying to attract a hospital to the building by providing a substantial amount of support to raise the sales price of the commercial space. When signing the commercial lease contract, they included a special clause stating that "the medical departments will be orthopedics, internal medicine, pediatrics, etc., and 3 to 4 doctors will provide treatment," along with the developer's provision of support funds to the tenant.

At that time, Dr. A already had about 300 million won in personal debt, so even if income was generated, it would be immediately seized, and thus he had neither the intention nor the ability to properly operate a hospital even if he opened one in the building. In fact, he opened a clinic in another area in October 2021 but failed to pay employees a total of about 100 million won in wages on time, leading to closure in January 2022.

Additionally, around October 2021, Dr. A and others are also accused of defrauding another victim, pharmacist Mr. C, of 50 million won under the pretext of a performance agreement by claiming that "a hospital with three specialists will operate in the commercial building for three years, issuing more than 60 prescriptions daily, ensuring stable profits."

The appellate court stated, "Considering the nature of the crime, the method, and the extent of the victim's damage, including Dr. A's embezzlement of about 900 million won from the building developer and the pharmacist victim, the crime is serious. Despite having a prior record of similar crimes, he committed the offense again, and since some victims have not reached settlements, a prison sentence is inevitable." Regarding the sentencing reasons, the court added, "However, Dr. A fully admitted his wrongdoing and showed remorse, paid part of the overdue wages, and some of the embezzled funds appear to have been used as planned for hospital interior construction and opening preparations."

Mr. B, who was sentenced to two years in prison in the first trial, had his sentence reduced to one year and eight months in the appellate court.

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