"Rolex Watch Sold Cheaply"... Bought for 15 Million Won on 'Danggeun'

Fake Rolex Sold as Genuine on Danggeun Market
Gwangju District Court Sentences 8 Months for Fraud Charges

A man in his 30s who sold a fake Rolex watch as genuine for 15 million won in a transaction on the secondhand trading application (app) Danggeun Market was sentenced to prison.

On the 16th, Judge Ha Jong-min of the Gwangju District Court Criminal Division 1 announced that he sentenced A (35), who was indicted on charges of fraud, to eight months in prison. A was put on trial for meeting a victim B in his 50s at a cafe in Buk-gu, Gwangju on March 20 last year and selling a fake Rolex watch for 15 million won.

Earlier, he posted on Danggeun Market that he was "selling a Rolex Datejust Wimbledon watch." The watch A was selling is a luxury item worth about 22 million won on the market. However, the watch A handed over to B was a counterfeit product.

The court pointed out, "The defendant committed fraud again despite having a history of four fines for similar crimes," and "He submitted false documents during the investigation, causing confusion, and has not been sincere in responding to the trial." Regarding the sentencing, the court explained, "The sentence is determined by comprehensively considering the defendant's motive, method, and circumstances after the crime."

Meanwhile, crimes related to secondhand Rolex watch transactions continue unabated. In August last year, C, a man in his 30s who tried to steal a Rolex watch worth about 12 million won during a transaction, was sentenced to seven years in prison in the first trial. In January last year, at a restaurant in Seo-gu, Daejeon, C tried to steal a Rolex watch on the table while D (46), whom he met through Danggeun Market, briefly left the seat. When D chased after C and caught him, C assaulted D's face and body multiple times, threatened him by putting his hand in and out of his coat pocket saying, "I have a knife. If you come at me, I'll stab you," and caused injury. He was indicted on these charges.

Also, in February last year, a man in his 20s who tried to sell a Rolex watch worth about 15 million won on Danggeun Market was robbed of the item. At that time, the victim E (28) arranged a secondhand Rolex watch transaction and met the buyer in front of his house. The buyer took the watch to look at it briefly and then ran away. E immediately reported to the police, but the police said it was difficult to catch the culprit due to lack of clues. Therefore, he tracked the thief using only the thief's nickname as a clue and identified the culprit's identity through an internet search. Under investigation pressure, the culprit eventually surrendered, but the watch had already been sold at a low price. Moreover, since the culprit was a first-time offender and a minor, the punishment was expected to be light, so only E suffered damages.