Police Send Creditor Who Took Wedding Gift Money Saying 'Pay Your Debt' to Prosecutors

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] A creditor accused of taking congratulatory money at a classmate's daughter's wedding ceremony while demanding "repay the debt" has been sent to the prosecution.

According to the police on the 3rd, the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul sent Mr. A to the prosecution without detention on the 28th of last month on charges of joint extortion, joint coercion, and violation of the Act on Fair Debt Collection Practices.

Mr. A is accused of appearing with family and acquaintances at the wedding hall of debtor Mr. B's daughter held at a hotel in Songpa-gu last February and taking the congratulatory money under the pretext of debt repayment. Among the nine people accompanying Mr. A, seven were found partially guilty and were also handed over to the prosecution.

Mr. B's side claimed that Mr. A threatened to cause a disturbance at the venue if the congratulatory money was not given, but the investigation revealed that Mr. A and his party did not actually cause any commotion at the wedding hall.

It is known that Mr. B borrowed about 700 million won from Mr. A, a classmate from elementary school between 2013 and 2017, and was sued for fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes in January last year for failing to repay part of it. Mr. B was sentenced to imprisonment and detained in the first trial in April this year.

During the police investigation, Mr. A's side claimed, "We visited the wedding hall after agreeing in advance with Mr. B to receive part of the daughter's congratulatory money," but Mr. B's side reportedly stated, "We never made such an agreement with Mr. A in advance."

CCTV footage at the wedding hall reportedly captured Mr. B taking some envelopes from the congratulatory money box and handing them to Mr. A. After reviewing the CCTV and investigating the related parties, the police handed over Mr. A and others to the prosecution.