20s Man Who Embezzled Tens of Millions in ‘Boheombbang’ and Assaulted Middle School Students... Suspended Sentence in First Trial

Deliberately Caused Accidents Five Times with Acquaintance
Intentionally Accelerated Targeting Car Changing Lanes
Also Accused of Assaulting Middle School Students

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] A man in his 20s, accused of making tens of millions of won through so-called ‘insurance fraud’ with friends and assaulting middle school students, was given a suspended sentence in the first trial.

The Seoul Western District Court Criminal Division 7 (Presiding Judge Jeong Cheolmin) announced on the 3rd that it sentenced Mr. A, a man in his 20s, who was indicted for violating the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud, the Act on the Punishment of Violent Acts (joint injury and joint confinement), and assault charges, to two years in prison with a three-year suspension. Additionally, the court ordered 120 hours of community service.

The court stated, “The defendant, either alone or with other accomplices, deliberately staged traffic accidents to fraudulently obtain insurance money, or jointly inflicted injury or assault on three teenage victims with accomplice Mr. B, showing a poor nature of the crime,” and pointed out, “The damage to the victims’ insurance companies amounts to about 77 million won, which is not insignificant, and the victims’ injuries are not minor.”

However, the court explained the sentencing reasons, saying, “The defendant is a first-time offender, has been detained for a considerable period, is reflecting on his wrongdoing, has repaid about 40 million won to the insurance companies and provided collateral for the remaining balance, and has reached agreements with two of the teenage victims who do not wish for the defendant to be punished.”

Mr. A was tried on charges of deliberately causing traffic accidents five times from September 2020 to June last year by carrying friends or seniors/juniors in his car and staging the accidents to appear as if caused by negligence to fraudulently obtain insurance money. According to the court, they caused the accidents by deliberately accelerating when seeing a car changing lanes.

Additionally, Mr. A is also accused of forcibly putting three middle school students into a car and assaulting them together with his soldier friend Mr. B at an apartment in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, around August last year.

According to the court, around August last year, Mr. B’s father found out that three middle school students had secretly driven his car, got angry, and had already assaulted two of them. Mr. A and Mr. B decided to discipline the students because they showed no remorse during this process.

Mr. A and Mr. B called out the middle school students, slapped their faces, and threw them to the ground. Afterwards, they forcibly put them into their vehicle, moved to another location, and continued assaulting them by slapping their cheeks. The victims suffered from concussions and facial fractures.