"Will Settle After Buddha's Birthday" The Identity of the Man Who Disappeared After Receiving Goryeo Celadon [Economic Crime 24 Hours]

Received Ceramics Worth 240 Million Won and Disappeared
Planned Crime to Cover Shortage of Pre-sale Funds

Park Jeong-chan (alias), who runs an art supply store in Jung-gu, Busan, received a call from an acquaintance at the end of April last year. The acquaintance, who operated an art supply store in Seoul, was also a fellow industry professional who had traded crafts with Park several times. After a few months, the acquaintance contacted Park and asked, "Do you have any good items recently?" and said, "There is someone willing to buy them at a good price."

When Park mentioned that he had Goryeo celadon and Joseon blue-and-white porcelain, the acquaintance said he would visit Busan soon. On May 3, the acquaintance came to Park’s art supply store with Won Mo (58). Won said, "The head monk of a temple I know wants to purchase the ceramics at a good price," and asked, "However, can I receive the items first and pay after Buddha’s Birthday?"

The photo is not directly related to the article content. Photo by Asia Economy DB

Although there was no collateral, Park trusted the credit of the acquaintance with whom he had frequently traded and handed over the items. In particular, the Goryeo celadon had been recognized for its value on a famous TV program, and the Joseon blue-and-white porcelain had been authenticated as genuine by the Korea Ceramic Culture Center.

However, even after Buddha’s Birthday passed, the payment was not settled, and despite Park’s repeated demands, Won avoided contact. After more than a month without receiving payment for the ceramics, Park eventually filed a fraud complaint against Won at the Haeundae Police Station in Busan in July of the same year.

The police, who began investigating, identified Won’s identity and sent a summons, but Won did not appear for questioning and fled. The police obtained an arrest warrant and tracked him down, capturing Won at his family’s home in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, four months after the investigation began, in November last year, and detained him.

Illustration of a fraud suspect. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Police investigation revealed that Won’s claim of selling the ceramics to the head monk was a complete lie from start to finish. Won, who had been working in construction, planned the crime when the funds for a housing development project became insufficient. He sold the two ceramics he received from Park to a ceramics dealer at Dongmyo Market in Seoul for 50 million won.

Considering that the Goryeo celadon was worth 200 million won and the Joseon blue-and-white porcelain about 40 million won, he sold them at a bargain price. Normally, when selling items like gold or ceramics through legitimate channels, a transaction ledger must be prepared, but since these were stolen goods, he sold them cheaply at the absurd price offered by the dealer who wanted to sell them quickly.

Given that Won never intended to pay from the beginning, the police applied fraud charges and sent him to prosecution in custody on December 10 last year. Ultimately, at the first trial held at the Busan District Court on February 7 this year, Won was sentenced to three years in prison. He appealed, claiming the sentence was too harsh, but the court dismissed the appeal, confirming the sentence as is.