Sentenced to Maximum Penalty for Fraud
Four Victims Driven to Extreme Choices
The so-called 'Construction King,' accused of a jeonse fraud amounting to 14.8 billion KRW, appealed the first trial verdict that sentenced him to the maximum statutory penalty of 15 years in prison for fraud.
Nam Mo (62), who was sentenced to 15 years in prison on the 7th for fraud and other charges, recently filed an appeal with the Incheon District Court. Some of the nine accomplices, including licensed real estate agents and brokerage assistants, who were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 4 to 13 years for the same charges, also appealed.
Nam and others were prosecuted on charges of embezzling 14.8 billion KRW in jeonse deposits from tenants of 191 apartment and villa units in the Michuhol-gu area of Incheon from March 2021 to July 2022. Nam is known as the 'Construction King' for owning 2,700 apartments and officetels in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province.
The total amount involved in all charges against Nam and his group is 45.3 billion KRW (563 units), but the trial that resulted in the current sentence only dealt with the previously indicted 14.8 billion KRW jeonse fraud case. The remaining 30.5 billion KRW jeonse fraud case is being tried separately.
On the 7th, Judge Oh Ki-du of the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 1 stated during the sentencing hearing, "The defendants targeted vulnerable groups such as young adults starting their careers and the elderly, showing very malicious motives and methods. There are 191 victims, with damages amounting to 14.8 billion KRW, and the victims' jeonse deposits were their entire savings, either obtained through loans or from their earnings." He continued, "Nam owns 2,708 housing units and must bear great guilt for the harm caused by his greed. Despite committing a serious crime that infringed on the basic living condition of housing, four young people in their 20s and 30s took extreme measures due to the jeonse fraud, yet Nam and his group consistently act as if the state or society should resolve this, raising concerns about recidivism."
On that day, Judge Oh unusually advocated for the need to amend related laws to increase the maximum statutory penalty for fraud while reading the verdict. The statutory penalty for fraud is imprisonment for up to 10 years, but for defendants like Nam who committed two or more frauds, the 'concurrent offense aggravation' provision allows an increase of up to half of the maximum statutory penalty.
Judge Oh said, "The maximum penalty that can be imposed for fraud remains limited to 15 years in prison. Current laws are insufficient to prevent malicious fraud crimes that destroy housing stability, a fundamental condition for human survival, rob vulnerable groups of their lives and hopes, and undermine social trust."
Immediately after the sentencing, the Michuhol-gu Jeonse Fraud Victims Countermeasure Committee, composed of victims of the jeonse fraud, appealed, "Thousands of households were victimized by the organized fraud of Nam and his group, but their sentences are too light. We demand that all members of Nam's group be charged with organizing a criminal group and be sentenced to the maximum penalty allowed by law. We also urge a thorough investigation into their entire fraudulent scheme to confiscate and recover criminal proceeds so that victims can return to their normal lives."
Earlier, at the closing arguments on the 17th of last month, the prosecution requested 15 years imprisonment for Nam and 7 to 10 years for the nine accomplices. Although the prosecution has not yet appealed, the second trial will be held at the Incheon District Court following the defendant's appeal.
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