Former Vice President Lee Jong-pil of 'Lime Scandal' Sentenced to 20 Years in Second Trial, Reduced by 5 Years

Lee Jong-pil, former vice president of Lime
[Photo by Yonhap News]

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Former Lime Asset Management Vice President Lee Jongpil was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the appellate trial, which is 5 years less than the first trial, in connection with the 'Lime Asset Management Scandal' that caused financial damage worth approximately 1.6 trillion KRW.

On the afternoon of the 23rd, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 13 (Presiding Judges Choi Suhwan, Jeong Hyunmi, Kim Jinha) sentenced former Vice President Lee to 20 years in prison and a fine of 4.8 billion KRW, and ordered the confiscation of about 1.81 billion KRW.

The court stated, "Lime Asset Management caused substantial and serious damage and suffering not only to itself but also to its investors, and was a major cause of the 'Lime Scandal,'" criticizing the scale, purpose, and method of the crime as reprehensible. However, "it took into consideration that the defendant admitted to some of the sophisticated crimes and is reflecting on the social damage and confusion caused by the Lime Scandal, as well as the fact that a separate first trial for additional crimes is ongoing," it added.

Former Lime CEO Won Mo, who was indicted together, was sentenced to 3 years in prison and fined 300 million KRW, while Lee Mo, the former head of the marketing department, received 3 years in prison with a 4-year probation and a fine of 100 million KRW, maintaining the first trial sentences.

Previously, former Vice President Lee and others were brought to trial on charges of hiding the fact that the International Investment Group (IIG) fund was in poor condition and unlikely to generate profits while selling the fund.

Former Vice President Lee is also accused of receiving about 1.4 billion KRW worth of valuables, including investments in the KOSDAQ-listed company Lead, luxury watches and bags, and leasing foreign cars, as bribes.

In the first trial, the charges of 'fund fraud' and 'rolling over bad debts' were heard separately, but in the appellate trial, the two cases were combined. In the first trial, former Vice President Lee was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 4 billion KRW for the fund sales fraud charge, along with a confiscation order of about 1.44 billion KRW. For the 'rolling over' charge, he was separately sentenced to 10 years in prison, fined 300 million KRW, and ordered to confiscate about 77 million KRW.

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