Executive at Financial Institution Convicted of Embezzling Customer Funds... Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison

Court: "Serious Nature of Embezzlement and Related Charges"

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] A woman in her 60s, who was indicted for embezzling customers' money while serving as an executive at a financial institution, has been sentenced to imprisonment.

On the 29th, according to the legal community, the Criminal Division 13 of the Seoul Northern District Court (Presiding Judge Oh Kwon-cheol) sentenced A (63), who was indicted on charges of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, forgery of private documents, use of forged private documents, and fraud, to four years in prison. The court stated, "The defendant is a first-time offender and has admitted and reflected on all the crimes in this case, but the embezzlement and other matters are serious," adding, "Considering that the crime was committed by abusing the executive position and customer trust, and that the defendant meticulously planned the crime in advance by forging withdrawal slips and bankbooks, the nature of the crime is grave."

Earlier, A was prosecuted on charges of embezzling approximately 2.4 billion KRW from customer accounts 122 times between May 2012 and January 2020 while working as an executive director at a financial institution in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. Although she retired in January 2019, investigations revealed that she continued embezzlement while performing tasks such as member management at the company's request. During this process, she is also accused of forging withdrawal slips stamped with customers' seals and forging customers' bankbooks to conceal her crimes.

Initially, the prosecution included in the indictment the embezzlement of about 300 million KRW over nine occasions from 2005 to 2008. However, the court ruled that the statute of limitations had expired for this part and acquitted her of these charges. Under criminal law, the statute of limitations for embezzlement is ten years.