'Hidden 400 Million in Kimchi Container'... Court Sentences Wife of Gyeongnam Bank Embezzlement Master to Prison

The wife of the main perpetrator in the 308.9 billion won embezzlement case at BNK Gyeongnam Bank was sentenced to prison for hiding approximately 400 million won of criminal proceeds.

On the 18th, according to the legal community, Judge Kim Han-cheol of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 17 sentenced A, who was indicted without detention on charges of violating the Act on the Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment, to 1 year and 6 months in prison and ordered her immediate detention.

According to the prosecution, A is the wife of B, the main suspect accused of embezzling 308.9 billion won in real estate project financing (PF) funds from Gyeongnam Bank between 2008 and 2022. When B’s embezzlement was uncovered during an investigation by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office’s Crime Proceeds Recovery Division, and a search of their residence was conducted, A transferred about 400 million won of the embezzled funds to another account, then withdrew it in cash or converted it into checks, which she packed in a plastic bag and hid between kimchi in a kimchi container, but was caught.

The first trial for B and other main perpetrators of the embezzlement case is currently underway. Professional money launderer C and B’s older brother D, who was involved in money laundering, were sentenced to 2 years and 6 months and 1 year and 6 months in prison respectively on the 13th of last month.

The prosecution stated, "We will continue to respond strictly to crimes involving concealment of criminal proceeds to establish the principle that ‘crime does not pay’."