Pastor of a Church in Gimhae Sentenced to Prison for Embezzling a Total of 120 Million Won in Loans through Document Forgery

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] On the 15th, Judge Cha Dong-gyeong of the Changwon District Court Criminal Division 6 sentenced A (67), who was tried on charges of forging documents to obtain loans under the names of churches and others and embezzling them, to 1 year and 4 months in prison.

A, who was a pastor of a church in Gimhae-si, Gyeongnam, used about 56 million won of the 100 million won loan secured by the church building in August 2011 for personal purposes such as debt repayment.

He also forged official church documents and board meeting minutes to obtain a loan of 170 million won under the church's name, embezzling 70 million won from it.

Judge Cha stated, "He not only embezzled the foundation's deposits by abusing his position as the head pastor but also falsified official and private documents," and added, "He did not reach an agreement with the victims, and no substantial compensation for the damage has been made."