Nine People Arrested and Indicted for Embezzling 19.3 Billion KRW from Saemaeul Geumgo Corporate Operating Funds

Nine individuals, including a loan broker, the CEO of an appraisal corporation, and employees of Saemaeul Geumgo, who embezzled approximately 19.3 billion KRW by abusing the corporate operating funds loan product, have been brought to trial.

Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office, commencing operations on the 19th.

On the 10th, the Criminal Division 5 of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Park Ji-hoon), together with the Investigation Division (Head of Investigation Park Jong-gil), announced that they have arrested and indicted nine perpetrators, including the loan broker, the actual borrower, and Saemaeul Geumgo employees, on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (fraud and breach of trust) and the Act on Appraisal and Appraisers, while seven appraisers were indicted without detention.

They are accused of embezzling a total of 15 cases amounting to 19.3 billion KRW in corporate operating funds from regional Saemaeul Geumgo branches through an organized division of roles, including arranging name lenders and fabricating false documents.

The corporate operating funds loan is a product that loans operating funds necessary for a company's business operations, where the applicant's credit, the use of the loan funds, and the value of the collateral real estate are important criteria in the loan approval review.

The loan broker prepared false documents upon the request of the actual borrower. The loan officer requested an appraisal from a specific appraisal corporation, which had been pre-notified, by manipulating the computer system, allowing the appraisal report to be prepared according to the appraisal value requested by the broker.

Overview of Saemaeul Geumgo Corporate Operating Fund Fraudulent Loan Case. Provided by Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office

The prosecution has been investigating since December of last year after receiving a complaint from Saemaeul Geumgo against the loan officer. During this process, they identified deficiencies in supervision and other procedures regarding the adoption of appraisal reports related to loan approvals and have reportedly recommended improvements to the relevant system.

A prosecution official stated, "We have severely punished those who abused the loan products of Saemaeul Geumgo, a representative financial institution for ordinary citizens," and added, "We will continue to respond strictly to crimes that directly harm the livelihood of the people and do our best to establish a judicial order trusted by the public."

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