"Sentenced to Prison for Habitual Fraud in 60s Despite Over 30 Years Working at Financial Institutions"

Suspended Amid Financial Loan Issue During Employment
Chuncheon District Court Sentences to 4 Years and 4 Months Imprisonment

A man in his 60s who worked at financial institutions for over 30 years and rose to the executive director level was sentenced to prison in the appellate court for borrowing money from multiple people during his tenure under various pretenses and failing to repay it on time.

On the 27th, the Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 1 (Chief Judge Shim Hyun-geun) announced that it sentenced Mr. A (62), who was indicted on charges of fraud, forgery of private documents, use of forged private documents, and obstruction of rights exercise, to 4 years and 4 months in prison. Mr. A, who was in charge of loan screening at a financial institution, was prosecuted for conspiring with Mr. B (65) and others in July 2019 to lend 670 million KRW to Mr. C, who operated a factory, and embezzling 120 million KRW from the loan amount as a kickback.

At the time, Mr. A was in a state of insolvency due to accumulated debts borrowed from multiple financial institutions including loan companies, yet he told Mr. C that if he lent part of the loan amount, he would repay it within six months. Previously, from 2014 to 2018, Mr. A had obtained 305 million KRW from other victims under the pretext of business funds for acquaintances, and in 2019, he embezzled about 230 million KRW from another victim by promising, "Once I repay the existing loans, I will switch to a low-interest loan and repay." Additionally, in 2020, he deceived someone by saying, "I am short of funds to buy land to live with my family," and extorted 160 million KRW, among other charges added to the indictment.

Due to these repeated private loan abuses, Mr. A was indefinitely suspended and placed on standby from August 2020. Despite this, he violated company regulations and was also charged with repeatedly forging subrogation guarantee letters stating that he would guarantee others' debts in the company's name.

The first trial court stated, "Mr. A committed the crimes by exploiting his position as a financial institution employee, and the method of the crime is very reprehensible," and sentenced him to 4 years and 6 months in prison, noting that the total amount of fraud exceeded 900 million KRW and the damages were not fully recovered. The appellate court, upon review, acquitted some charges of forgery and use of forged private documents, and considering that the defendant admitted all crimes and had no other criminal record except for one fine for drunk driving, slightly reduced the sentence to 4 years and 4 months in prison.

Meanwhile, Mr. B, who was involved in some of the crimes, was sentenced to 10 months in prison with a 2-year probation in the first trial and did not appeal, so the first trial verdict was finalized.