Seafood Distributor Who Diverted Imported Snow Crabs and King Crabs Using "Secret Compartments in Refrigerated Trucks" Receives Final 6-Year Prison Sentence
Supreme Court: "Constitutes an Import Act Under the Customs Act"
A group that created secret compartments in refrigerated trucks to siphon off tens of billions of won worth of Russian snow crabs and king crabs before customs clearance has been found guilty.
The Supreme Court's Second Division (Presiding Justice Eom Sang-pil) on May 14 dismissed the appeal of seafood distributor Mr. A, who had been indicted on charges including aggravated theft and violation of the Customs Act, and upheld the lower court's ruling sentencing him to six years in prison, a fine of 15 million won, and an additional forfeiture of approximately 3.693 billion won.
The 17 accomplices who were indicted together also received sentences ranging from up to four years and four months in prison to suspended sentences, depending on their level of involvement, along with a total forfeiture amount in the hundreds of billions of won.
From February 2023 for about a year, they were found to have illegally distributed approximately 62 tons of Russian snow crabs and king crabs (worth around 3 billion won), using refrigerated trucks with hidden compartments to divert the seafood during transport from Donghae Port and Sokcho Port to bonded warehouses.
They appealed, arguing, "It is unreasonable to regard the diversion of offloaded seafood as 'undeclared import' under the Customs Act," and "The method for calculating the forfeiture amount under the Customs Act is unfair."
However, the Supreme Court maintained the lower court's decision, stating, "Stealing goods and bringing them into domestic circulation before completing the import declaration and customs clearance procedures constitutes an import act under the Customs Act in itself."
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The court also found the large-scale forfeiture order to be justified. The Supreme Court explained, "Forfeiture under the Customs Act has a punitive nature and is calculated based on the domestic wholesale price of the goods at the time of the crime, and can be imposed individually on each accomplice."
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