A Man in His 60s Smuggled a Total of 15kg of Gold Bars Hidden in His Anus... 'Suspended Sentence'

Received an Offer to Provide 300,000 Won per Transport and Participated in a Total of 15 Crimes

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] A man in his 60s was sentenced to a suspended prison term for hiding gold bars in specific parts of his body and smuggling them from China into South Korea.

The Incheon District Court Criminal Division 1 (Judge Kim Eun-yeop) sentenced A (69), who was indicted for violating the Customs Act, to 8 months in prison with a 2-year suspension. Additionally, a fine of approximately 688 million KRW was imposed.

The court stated, "The scale of the smuggled gold bars is not small, and considering the duration, frequency, and method of the crime, the culpability is serious."

File photo. A man in his 60s who smuggled gold bars hidden in his anus was sentenced to a suspended prison term. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Photo by Yonhap News]

However, the court explained the sentencing rationale, saying, "The defendant has no prior criminal record for similar offenses, confessed to the crime, and appears to have earned relatively little profit compared to the overall smuggling scale as a simple carrier."

A was charged with smuggling a total of 15 kilograms of gold bars worth approximately 688 million KRW by entering through Incheon Airport from Yantai, China, and other locations 15 times between October 13 and December 16, 2015.

Investigations revealed that around September 2015, A received an offer from an acquaintance to pay 300,000 KRW per transport of gold bars. He concealed the gold bars in his anus and entered through Incheon International Airport, participating in the crime using this method.