"Deposited Bankbook, Then Secret Loan"...Police Investigate Nonghyup Cooperative Head for Embezzlement Charges

Victim "Managed family account, 1 billion won loan secured by ginseng"
Cooperative head "Submitted explanation to police... different from facts"

A head of a Nonghyup cooperative in Nonsan, Chungnam, is under police investigation for allegedly embezzling money by taking out loans in the names of his intellectually disabled older brother and nephew.

According to Asia Economy's report on the 18th, the side of Mr. A, who has an intellectual disability, filed a complaint with the Nonsan Police Station last September against Mr. B, the current head of the Nonghyup cooperative in Nonsan, on charges of embezzlement.

According to legal sources and Mr. A’s side, Mr. B, who works at Nonghyup, has managed all the bank accounts of Mr. A’s family since 2008. He is known to have taken out a loan of 1 billion KRW in the names of Mr. A and Mr. A’s son, using ginseng as collateral, and embezzled proceeds from rice, ginseng, and cattle sales.

The victims also claim that Mr. B sold 40 cattle and embezzled 170 million KRW.

The outstanding balance on the loan secured by ginseng is currently reported to be 200 million KRW.

This information came to light after Mr. A’s wife received a loan repayment demand from Nonghyup in July 2023 and checked the transaction history of the accounts held in the family members’ names.

In a phone call with a reporter, Mr. B said, “I have submitted sufficient explanatory materials to the police,” and added, “Their claims are not true.”

A police official stated, “Since this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot disclose precise details.”

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