"Spent It All" - National Health Insurance Service Employee Embezzling 4.6 Billion Refuses Repayment

Tens of Thousands of Transaction Records... Difficulty Verifying Authenticity
Police Transfer Embezzlement Charges Due to Expiration of Detention Period

Choi Mo (46), the former head of the financial management team at the National Health Insurance Service, who embezzled 4.6 billion KRW in medical insurance fees and fled to the Philippines, has refused to repay the stolen amount.

According to the police on the 27th, Choi has maintained the claim during two police interrogations that "he squandered all the money."

Team Leader of the National Health Insurance Service Embezzling 4.6 Billion Won Repatriated Domestically.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Earlier, from April 27, 2022, Choi transferred 4.62 billion KRW of withheld medical fees from 17 medical institutions in seven installments to his own account and then fled to the Philippines. Investigations revealed that the embezzled funds were converted into cryptocurrency to conceal the criminal proceeds.

He claims that he invested the embezzled money in futures trading on the cryptocurrency exchange Binance and lost it all. The unrecovered amount from Choi reaches 3.9 billion KRW.

The police have requested Binance to provide Choi’s transaction records and other data to verify the truth of his claims. However, due to approximately 10,000 cryptocurrency transactions during his year-long evasion and missing data, the investigation is facing difficulties.

The police are also verifying the specific cryptocurrencies Choi invested in, the flow of funds, and the futures trading methods involved.

As Choi’s detention period expired, the police transferred him to the prosecution applying only the embezzlement charges. They plan to analyze remaining data and add charges such as concealment of criminal proceeds later.

Choi, who was caught at a luxury resort in Manila, Philippines, reportedly maintained an attitude of "having no money" and did not even hire a lawyer.

Since the 4.6 billion KRW embezzled by Choi essentially represents public tax money, if he does not repay it and seek leniency, a heavy sentence is expected in court.

After 1 year and 4 months of pursuit, the police arrested Mr. A. On the day of the arrest operation, a task force composed of the Philippine Korean Desk and local police raided Choi’s hideout and lay in wait for 5 hours. Choi was arrested on the spot as he took the elevator down.

The National Police Agency stated that Gangwon Provincial Police Agency (Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit), Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency (Interpol Tracking Team), the Korean Embassy in the Philippines, local police, and immigration authorities cooperated to capture Choi. The National Health Insurance Service also cooperated by providing tracking clues to the relevant authorities.