Union Head Receives Suspended Prison Sentence for Using Union Funds to Pay Personal Legal Fees

Withdrawal of 59.7 Million Won for Criminal Case Attorney Fees

[Image source=Yonhap News]

A head of an urban development cooperative who used the cooperative's funds to pay for his own legal fees has been sentenced to a suspended prison term.

On the 19th, Judge Lee Jingyu of the Cheonan Branch of the Daejeon District Court sentenced Mr. A (65), who was indicted without detention on charges of occupational embezzlement, to one year in prison with two years of probation and ordered 80 hours of community service.

Mr. A, the head of an urban development cooperative in Asan, Chungnam, is accused of conspiring with Mr. B, the head of the cooperative's project management company, in June 2021 to withdraw 59.7 million won of cooperative funds to pay for legal fees related to his own criminal case involving attempted breach of duty.

Judge Lee Jingyu stated, "Mr. A enjoyed most of the benefits from this crime but shifted the responsibility to Mr. B, making both the nature of the crime and the circumstances after the offense unfavorable." He added, "However, the sentence takes into account that the damage was recovered and that Mr. A invested his own assets to carry out the cooperative's business."