"Drink Three Cups of Coffee and Stay Up All Night Before the Test"... Manual of Insurance Planner Who Collected 1 Billion Won in Payouts

Collected 1 Billion Won in Insurance Payouts and Took Commissions

An insurance planner who was put on trial for informing clients how to receive false arrhythmia diagnoses at hospitals and helping them obtain insurance payouts has been sentenced to prison.

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According to Yonhap News on May 16, the Busan District Court Criminal Division 6 (Judge Kim Minji) sentenced a man in his 30s, referred to as Mr. A, to three years in prison for violating the Special Act on Insurance Fraud Prevention. Of the four clients, including Mr. B, who were indicted alongside Mr. A, one was sentenced to 10 months in prison, while the remaining three received suspended sentences of six months to one year and six months, with probation periods ranging from two to three years.

Previously, Mr. A, who worked as an insurance planner for a domestic insurance company, was accused of instructing clients, including Mr. B, on how to receive false arrhythmia diagnoses and claim insurance payouts from 2022 through 2025.

Based on Mr. A's suggestions, more than 30 insurance policyholders signed up for multiple insurance products. Subsequently, they received false arrhythmia diagnoses at hospitals and collected insurance payouts. The total amount of these insurance payouts reached as much as 1 billion won. During this process, it was found that Mr. A took a portion of the insurance payouts as a commission.

Arrhythmia is a condition in which the heartbeat becomes abnormally fast, slow, or irregular, and a patient's subjective complaints have significant influence on the diagnosis. Noticing this, Mr. A created an "arrhythmia diagnosis manual," which he shared with clients to manage the insurance claim process. The manual also included instructions for insurance policyholders on how to describe their symptoms during hospital visits, such as "I feel palpitations and tightness in my chest" or "Even when sitting still, I occasionally experience these symptoms."

He particularly emphasized that on the day before ultrasound and electrocardiogram examinations, clients should drink three cups of espresso and energy drinks, stay up all night, and then go to the hospital, as this would increase the likelihood of abnormal findings during the tests. The manual also advised activities such as squats, jump roping, and stair climbing to irregularly raise the heart rate, as well as staying awake and chain-smoking.

Furthermore, Mr. A introduced clients to specific hospitals that were more likely to give arrhythmia diagnoses. He also meticulously prepared post-payout guidelines, such as how to act after receiving insurance payouts, in order to avoid being placed on the insurance company's "insurance fraud list."

The court stated, "Mr. A, as an insurance planner, not only betrayed his professional ethics but also played a leading role in the crime, making him highly blameworthy. Insurance fraud undermines the purpose of the insurance system, which is to distribute risk rationally, shifts damages onto many insurance subscribers, and significantly harms the social function of insurance. Therefore, severe punishment is necessary."

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