Seoul High Court Upholds First Trial Sentences... Orders Forfeiture of 15.9 Billion Won
Former Korea Investment & Securities Employee Involved in Embezzlement Also Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison
A former executive of BNK Gyeongnam Bank, accused of embezzling company funds worth hundreds of billions of won, was sentenced to a heavy prison term again in the appellate court. A former employee of Korea Investment & Securities who participated in the embezzlement received the same sentence as in the first trial.
A embezzlement incident involving real estate project financing loans worth approximately 56 billion KRW occurred at BNK Gyeongnam Bank. The photo shows a BNK Gyeongnam Bank branch in downtown Seoul on the 3rd. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
On the 14th, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 6-3 (Presiding Judges Lee Yesul, Jeong Jae-o, and Choi Eun-jeong) sentenced Lee, the former head of the Investment Finance Department at Gyeongnam Bank, who was indicted for embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, to 35 years in prison, the same as in the first trial, and ordered the confiscation of approximately 15.9 billion won.
Hwang, a former employee of Korea Investment & Securities who committed the crime together with Lee, was also sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined 1.1 billion won, the same as in the first trial. The court stated, "There are no significant changes in the sentencing conditions compared to the original trial, and the original sentencing cannot be said to have exceeded the reasonable range of discretion," dismissing all appeals by the prosecution.
They are accused of forging and using withdrawal slips 20 times from November 2014 to July 2022 to transfer 228.6 billion won of company funds to paper companies for unauthorized use. In particular, Lee is also charged with embezzling 80.3 billion won of company funds alone using the same method from July 2008 to September 2018.
According to the prosecution's investigation, they impersonated employees of the project company to create false documents as if requesting loans and embezzled loan funds, or diverted loan principal and interest repayment funds remitted by related trust companies to Gyeongnam Bank accounts under the project company's name.
Meanwhile, Lee's wife, who concealed the embezzled funds, was sentenced to one year in prison, and seven accomplices who helped Lee launder the funds were also given confirmed prison sentences.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
