"Minister Embezzled Secret Funds to Give Retirement Money"... 60s Man Sentenced to 2 Years for Extorting Over 100 Million Won

A woman in her 60s who impersonated the slush fund manager of a former Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and embezzled a large sum was sentenced to two years in prison.

According to the legal community on the 23rd, Judge Lee Joon-seok of the Criminal Division 8 at the Seoul Eastern District Court sentenced A (61), who is accused of fraud, to two years in prison.

A is accused of impersonating the slush fund manager of the late Jang Deok-jin, who served as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries during former President Park Chung-hee's era, and extorted 151 million won over 10 occasions under the pretext of releasing underground funds.

A promised victim B (65), whom A met through an acquaintance, that if B supported the operational costs, A would later take responsibility for purchasing a house and securing retirement, claiming to be trying to extract underground funds worth several hundred billion won. A then lied that the Financial Supervisory Service had already approved the process and that once former President Park Geun-hye returned from the U.S. and received Blue House approval, the procedure would be completed.

However, it was confirmed that no underground funds worth several hundred billion won actually existed. Furthermore, A planned to use the money received from B for living expenses and had no ability to return the profits.

The court stated as a reason for sentencing, "The defendant had been on probation for two previous sympathy crimes but did not reform and deceived the victim again, showing poor criminal character," and added, "The victim lost nearly all of their assets and is suffering severe economic and psychological distress."

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