Former Senior Coast Guard Official Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Embezzling Welfare Funds to Repay Debts

A former senior official of the Korea Coast Guard has been sentenced to prison for embezzling welfare funds and using them to pay off personal debts.

On July 24, the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 12 (Presiding Judge Choi Younggak) announced that it had sentenced former Coast Guard Senior Superintendent A (54), who was indicted on charges of causing losses to the national treasury under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and unauthorized use of official credentials, to two years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of 470 million won.

A, who was responsible for accounting operations, was brought to trial on charges of transferring 470 million won from the Coast Guard welfare fund, which was deposited in a commercial bank under the pretense of employee housing lease deposits, to bank accounts in the names of his spouse and a church pastor on two occasions, December 18 and 20 last year.

A was found to have improperly used his credentials as the "Korea Coast Guard Welfare Fund Custodian" to prepare and submit electronic withdrawal slips to the bank, and the embezzled funds were used to repay loans from financial institutions or to settle personal debts. The Korea Coast Guard held a disciplinary committee in February last year and dismissed A from his position.

The court stated, "The defendant was a high-ranking public official who was required to maintain strict integrity, yet committed the crime in a premeditated manner," adding, "The nature of the crime is severe."

However, the court explained the sentencing by noting, "After the crime, the defendant returned an amount equivalent to the withdrawn funds, and had served diligently as a member of the Korea Coast Guard until then."

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