A Man in His 40s Fined for Staging Kidnapping Against a Woman Met on a Dating App

Charged with Attempted Fraud and Extortion
1.3 Million Won Paid Using Borrowed Card

A man in his 40s who attempted to extort money from a family by fabricating a kidnapping of a woman he met through a dating application was sentenced to a fine.

On the 2nd, Judge Seo Dong-won of the Criminal Division 6 at the Seoul Eastern District Court announced that Mr. A (49), who was indicted on charges of fraud and attempted extortion, was sentenced to a fine of 20 million won.

Mr. A is accused of staging a kidnapping hoax against Ms. B, whom he met through a dating app in 2015, and attempting to extort 10 million won from her family.

At the time, Mr. A was staying in the Philippines and met Ms. B, who was visiting the Philippines for travel, at a hotel in Manila. After borrowing Ms. B’s phone, he sent a message to her mother claiming that he had kidnapped her daughter. Mr. A threatened for three days, saying he would release her daughter if 10 million won was transferred, but the crime was unsuccessful as Ms. B’s mother refused the proposal, stating she could not guarantee her daughter’s safety. ☞

Additionally, Mr. A borrowed a credit card from Ms. B under the pretext of paying a hotel deposit and made payments totaling about 13 million won over 23 transactions. Although Mr. A promised to repay the amount in cash later, it was confirmed that he had neither the intention nor the means to repay the debt.

Furthermore, Mr. A is also accused of borrowing about 70 million won from Ms. C, whom he met through a dating app in 2014 and became romantically involved with, for loan purposes and failing to repay it.

The court stated the sentencing reasons, saying, "The defendant partially denies the crime and has a prior record of punishment for similar offenses," but also considered "the fact that the victims do not wish for the defendant to be punished."