Embezzlement of Company Funds Over 900 Times in 6 Years
An employee of Gyeyang Electric, a KOSPI-listed company, who was prosecuted for embezzling hundreds of billions of won of company funds, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Ahn Cheol-sang) announced on the 9th that it upheld the original sentence of 12 years imprisonment for Kim, who was indicted for embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and violation of the Act on the Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment. The court also confirmed the confiscation of approximately 420,000 virtual currency units and the seizure of about 20.3 billion won.
Kim was prosecuted on charges of embezzlement after transferring a total of approximately 24.6 billion won of company funds from the company’s account to his own account 925 times over six years starting in 2016, while working as a deputy manager in the finance team of the management support department at Gyeyang Electric. This amount corresponded to 12.7% of Gyeyang Electric’s equity capital of 192.6 billion won.
Although Kim voluntarily returned 3.7 billion won of the embezzled funds to the company, it was revealed that he entrusted about 500 million won worth of virtual currency to his ex-wife before his arrest, leading to additional charges for violating the Act on the Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment.
Gyeyang Electric’s stock trading was suspended when Kim’s criminal acts became known, but trading resumed in mid-July last year.
The first trial court sentenced Kim to 12 years in prison, stating, "The company suffered serious damage, and most of the damage has not been recovered, leading to a petition for severe punishment of the defendant."
The appellate court upheld the first trial’s ruling, stating, "Considering the overall circumstances of the crime and the amount of damage, the nature of the crime is very serious, the company suffered significant losses, and the damage has not yet been recovered, so a severe punishment for the defendant is requested." The Supreme Court also agreed with the lower courts’ judgments.
Meanwhile, Kim lost in a civil trial as well and was ordered to compensate Gyeyang Electric approximately 20.8489 billion won.
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