"Father Jailed for Stealing Drunkard's Card to Raise Settlement Money for Detained Son"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A father who stole a drunk person's card while trying to raise settlement money for his son, who was arrested for involvement in a voice phishing crime, was sentenced to prison and detained in court. He pleaded for leniency, saying he had to take responsibility for his son, but could not avoid a prison sentence due to prior criminal records.

According to the legal community on the 13th, Chief Judge Im Gwangho of the 20th Criminal Division at the Seoul Central District Court recently sentenced A (53, male), who was indicted on charges of theft, violation of the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act, and violation of the Passenger Transport Service Act, to eight months in prison.

Earlier, on the night of February 22, A was driving an unlicensed taxi with his private car on a road in Jung-gu, Seoul, when he received a credit card from a drunken passenger B (38, male), learned the PIN, withdrew 30,000 won for the taxi fare from an ATM, and did not return the card to B when he got off. He then withdrew several million won in cash, leading to charges of theft.

It was investigated that A used the card to withdraw a total of 6 million won in cash from multiple ATMs over about 15 minutes after B got off, and additionally received 2 million won in cash advances. It was revealed that A committed this crime two years and six months after being released in 2018, having previously served a prison sentence for special theft and other charges.

In court, A admitted all charges but pleaded for leniency, saying, "I was trying to raise settlement money for my son, who is currently detained for involvement in a voice phishing case." A's lawyer said, "If the defendant is detained, we are concerned about the son's wandering," and requested, "Please be lenient and impose only a fine this one time." A also bowed his head, saying, "The situation was urgent, and I took the opportunity. I couldn't sleep well worrying about my only son."

However, the court sentenced him to prison and detained A in court. The court criticized, "The defendant committed the same type of crime again during the recidivism period (three years after completion or exemption of sentence), which is a serious offense," and added, "The nature and method of the crime, targeting vulnerable unspecified drunken passengers, are highly dangerous."

Nevertheless, the court stated, "However, the defendant showed remorse, paid 9 million won, reached a settlement, and the victim hopes for leniency," and "Considering all sentencing factors including the defendant's age, character, environment, the nature of the crime, and subsequent circumstances, the sentence is determined."

Meanwhile, A has appealed against this ruling.