"Financially Struggling"... Accountant Who Embezzled 2.3 Billion Won at Funeral Hall Pleads Her Case

Embezzlement of Funds Over 10 Years While Working at Funeral Hall
Court: "Difficult to View as Livelihood Crime"
Appeal Dismissed... First Trial Sentence of '4 Years Imprisonment' Upheld

The appeal of a 50-year-old accounting staff member who embezzled 2.3 billion KRW from company funds while working at a funeral home for 10 years has been dismissed.

According to the legal community on the 25th, the 1st Criminal Division of the Daejeon High Court dismissed the appeal of accounting staff member A in the appeal trial for violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (embezzlement). A appealed the first trial sentence of four years in prison, claiming "the sentence is too harsh," but it was not accepted.

A was indicted on charges of embezzling 2.3 billion KRW while working at a funeral home in Asan, Chungnam from 2014 until August of last year. In May 2015, A first started embezzling company funds by transferring 1.08 million KRW from the company account to her husband's account. Subsequently, until August 1 of last year, she transferred a total of 2,317,933,000 KRW to her own or her husband's accounts in 4,780 transactions by deceiving the company into believing payments were being made to suppliers.

The embezzled money was used to purchase her husband's car (150 million KRW) and an apartment, and to repay loans (200 million KRW). Additionally, during the period of the crime, she subscribed to 22 insurance policies, paying 2.75 million KRW in premiums monthly. Although A claimed that she committed the crime due to financial difficulties such as family medical expenses, the court, after reviewing the purchases of the car, apartment, and private education expenses, judged that "it is difficult to consider this a crime committed for livelihood."

The defense requested that the fact that the victim company had placed a provisional seizure on real estate and vehicles owned by A worth approximately 800 million KRW be reflected in the sentencing conditions. However, the court stated, "While the embezzlement damage amounts to 2.3 billion KRW, the value of the seized assets, even including their purchase price, is only about 490 million KRW," adding, "Considering the increase in real estate value and depreciation of the car, it is difficult to expect full recovery of damages through the seized assets." The court further explained the reason for dismissing the appeal, saying, "The defendant's embezzlement had a significant adverse effect on the financial condition of the victim company, which is not large in scale. Although 400 million KRW was repaid belatedly, a substantial portion of the damage has yet to be restored, and the victim's side is petitioning for severe punishment, which is unfavorable to the defendant."