Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok: "Measures Will Be Taken to Ensure Severe Punishments for Jeonse Fraud"

by Heo Kyungjun

Published 25 Apr.2023 21:32(KST)

Lee: "The Home, Our Shelter, Is the Target of Crime... A Serious Offense"

Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok announced that sufficient measures will be taken to ensure severe penalties are imposed for jeonse fraud crimes.

Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok is answering questions from the press on the afternoon of the 25th while visiting the Ansan Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 25th, Prosecutor General Lee, who visited the Ansan Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, told reporters, "Targeting someone's home, which is their place of residence, and taking it away is a serious crime that causes significant harm."

He continued, "Currently, the statutory penalties are determined based on the individual victim's amount of damage, but we have requested the Ministry of Justice to amend the law so that the total amount of damage to all victims can be aggregated and punished more severely under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. Even before the law is amended, we will do our best to ensure that the maximum statutory penalty (imprisonment for 15 years) can be imposed through concurrent law aggravation," he added.

Regarding the so-called "Villa God" jeonse fraud gang receiving sentences higher than the prosecution's demands, Prosecutor General Lee said, "Investigations are ongoing into their additional criminal charges," and "we will take sufficient measures to ensure appropriate penalties are imposed."

The Ansan Branch of the Suwon District Court sentenced Choi Mo, who was indicted in custody on fraud charges, to 8 years in prison, and Kwon Mo and Park Mo to 6 years and 5 years in prison, respectively. Previously, the prosecution had demanded 7 years for Choi and 5 years each for Kwon and others.