Active Police Officer Arrested and Indicted for Embezzling 300 Million Won from Voice Phishing Seized Assets

An active-duty police officer who embezzled approximately 300 million won in cash seized from a voice phishing case has been brought to trial.

On the 11th, the Criminal Division 3 of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Eun-ha) announced that police officer A, belonging to the Violent Crimes Unit of the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul, was indicted in custody on charges of embezzlement in the course of duty and forgery of official documents.

Officer A is accused of embezzling about 300 million won in cash seized from four voice phishing cases he was in charge of over a period of two years. The charges were uncovered when Officer A attempted to return the embezzled cash to the integrated evidence storage room.

The prosecution conducted supplementary investigations, including reviewing Officer A’s case records and analyzing bank accounts. During this process, it was revealed that most of the embezzled cash was used to pay credit card bills and loan repayments. The prosecution also confirmed that Officer A created false official documents and electronic records to make it appear as if the seized items were still being stored, and applied charges of forgery of official documents and falsification of electronic records accordingly.

The police urgently arrested Officer A on the 16th of last month and applied for an arrest warrant two days later, on the 18th. The court issued the arrest warrant on the 19th, citing concerns over evidence destruction and flight risk.

A prosecution official stated, "We will do our utmost to maintain the prosecution so that the defendant, who forgot the duty of a police officer to protect the public’s property and committed this crime, receives punishment commensurate with the offense."