Yukgaejang 16.78 Million Won? Wrongly Sent Refund 'Swallowed'... 1st and 2nd Trial Prison Sentence [Seocho-dong Legal Story]

The photo is unrelated to the article content. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

(Transaction Record) 2021.02.11

Deposit 16,780,000 KRW

This is a deposit record that appeared in Mr. A’s (35-year-old male) account around 8 a.m. on February 11 last year. He was waiting for a refund after demanding one from the customer service, claiming that a 'hair' was found in the Yukgaejang he ordered through a delivery app. The problem was that the restaurant owner, Mr. B, accidentally pressed the 'full transfer' button while trying to refund the 10,000 KRW for the Yukgaejang, transferring 16.78 million KRW to Mr. A.

Mr. B immediately contacted Mr. A to ask for the mistakenly transferred money back. Mr. A had no intention of returning it and started spending the money as if it came from his own wallet. When Mr. B said he would proceed with a lawsuit, Mr. A’s actions became even bolder. On the 15th of the same month, he went to the police and filed a complaint against Mr. B for attempted fraud.

The complaint submitted to the police misrepresented the relationship between Mr. A and Mr. B. Mr. A claimed that they were not consumer and seller of delivery food but rather seller and buyer of 'luxury secondhand watches.' He alleged that "he sold a luxury watch to Mr. B for 18 million KRW in a secondhand transaction, but Mr. B lied about the payment for the watch." A full investigation began, and the prosecution indicted Mr. A on charges of false accusation and embezzlement.

Mr. A’s lies continued even in court. During the first trial, he testified that he received a 1 million KRW advance payment from Mr. B, handed over the watch and warranty, and then received the balance payment. Regarding why he ordered food from Mr. B’s restaurant at that time, he denied it by saying it was to urge Mr. B to pay the balance for the secondhand watch on time.

The court did not accept Mr. A’s story about the 'secondhand watch transaction.' The first trial court pointed out that "it is highly unusual in the experience of private transactions between individuals dealing with high-priced secondhand goods to receive only a 1 million KRW advance and hand over an 18 million KRW watch and warranty all at once," and "it is hard to believe that the defendant, who knows the victim’s phone number and the restaurant’s location, would urge payment by ordering food."

Furthermore, the court stated, "The defendant has not been forgiven by the victim, and the damage has not been restored," sentencing Mr. A to eight months in prison and ordering him to compensate Mr. B 16.86 million KRW.

Mr. A appealed, claiming the sentence was too harsh. During the appeal process, he changed his attitude by submitting two letters of apology. However, the sentence remained unchanged.

On the 26th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeal Division 8-2 (Presiding Judges Jang Seonghak, Jang Yunseon, Kim Yeyeong) dismissed Mr. A’s appeal, stating, "Although the defendant has confessed to some parts, there are no special circumstances that warrant changing the original sentence." The deviation that started from a bowl of Yukgaejang came at a high cost.