Prosecutors Recover 85 Million Won in Criminal Proceeds from 'Team Leader Lee' Graffiti at Gyeongbokgung Palace

Prosecution for Graffiti on Gyeongbokgung Wall, Criminal Profits Also Recovered

The prosecution indicted the so-called 'Team Leader Lee' on charges of instructing teenagers to graffiti the name of an illegal video sharing site he operated on the walls of Gyeongbokgung Palace and recovered 85 million won in criminal proceeds.

The Crime Proceeds Recovery Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Yoo Min-jong) additionally indicted the graffiti offender A on June 6 for violating the Act on the Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment. Earlier, A was arrested and indicted in June for violating the Cultural Heritage Protection Act. Additionally, three money launderers who received commissions from A and laundered the criminal proceeds were indicted without detention on the same charges.

A man in his 30s who was made to graffiti the wall of Gyeongbokgung Palace, a nationally designated cultural property, is appearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 25th for a pre-arrest detention hearing.
Photo by Yonhap News

A is accused of laundering approximately 255.2 million won in criminal proceeds, received as payment for posting advertisements for illegal gambling sites on the illegal video sharing site he operated from December last year to May this year, through virtual assets and other means.

Despite the restoration cost of Gyeongbokgung Palace being about 130 million won, A has maintained that he holds no assets. Accordingly, since July, the prosecution conducted forensic analysis and searches, confirming that A held about 25 million won in virtual assets, which were seized and preserved.

Furthermore, by tracking virtual assets, the prosecution additionally confirmed that A held assets totaling about 55 million won in virtual assets and other forms, which were also seized and preserved. One gold bar worth approximately 5 million won was additionally seized from the residence of a money launderer.

The prosecution stated, “We will strictly punish money laundering crimes to ensure that criminals do not gain even one won from their crimes and thoroughly recover criminal proceeds.”