"Bank Employee Who Committed Suicide After Withdrawing Mother's Savings"… Bank Says "Rescue Difficult"

Bank says "There is a recording confirming the cancellation was made by the customer"

Bank. Not related to the article. /Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Yeeun] A national petition has been posted claiming that a deputy branch manager of a bank in Jeonju, Jeonbuk, embezzled customer deposits and then took an extreme measure. On the other hand, the bank stated that the early withdrawal of the customer's deposit was an incident from five years ago and that it is difficult to provide relief to the customer.

On the 30th of last month, a post titled "A bank deputy branch manager embezzled the deposit of his 69-year-old mother and then took an extreme measure" was uploaded on the national petition board.

The petitioner, A, who identified herself as the victim's daughter, said, "B, the deputy branch manager of a commercial bank's Jeonju Financial Center, embezzled the deposit my mother had placed in the bank and then took an extreme measure," and complained, "The bank is avoiding responsibility by claiming it was an individual's deviation and refusing to compensate for the damage."

A said, "The bank came with a lawyer to intimidate us and threatened that if we contacted the media, we could be sued for defamation," and claimed, "Even the Financial Supervisory Service is avoiding responsibility, saying they cannot intervene in such criminal matters."

She continued, "My mother is suffering terribly day by day, and since the death of deputy branch manager B, she has been unable to eat and has closed the restaurant she was running."

She added, "From a daughter's perspective, it is very hard and unfair to see her telling me to forget everything and give up as I fight a 'fight like an egg against a rock' against a large corporation, so I cannot give up."

Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Capture

Regarding this, a representative of the bank said, "At the time, when the bank asked A specifically about the date, time, and amount regarding the early withdrawal or cancellation of her deposit, there was a recording confirming that she had indeed canceled it herself. Based on this, the bank is in a position where it is difficult to provide relief to the customer."

He added, "The early withdrawal occurred in 2016, about 5 or 6 years ago. If the customer had felt there was a problem, she would have raised the issue back then."

Regarding the claim that the bank threatened the customer, the bank said, "There is no reason to threaten the customer, but it seems the customer felt that way. We only informed her that if false information is spread, there could be penalties."

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