Embezzled Auction Dividends and Deposits
Invested in Derivatives and Others... Lost Most of It
A former public official who embezzled about 5.5 billion KRW in auction dividends and deposit money while working at the court was sentenced to a heavy prison term in the appellate trial.
On the 27th, the Criminal Division 1 of the Busan High Court (Presiding Judge Kim Ju-ho) sentenced Mr. A, in his 40s, who was indicted for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (embezzlement), to 15 years in prison in the appellate trial. Mr. A is accused of embezzling approximately 780 million KRW in auction dividends held by the court on eight occasions while handling real estate auction work at the Ulsan District Court from June to December 2020. It was investigated that he falsified individual account deposit applications in the computer system at the time to divert the auction dividends.
Subsequently, from the end of 2022 for about a year, Mr. A worked in the deposit division of the Busan District Court and embezzled 4.8 billion KRW in deposit money over 50 times, investing most of it in high-risk derivative products and losing it. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison in the first trial for embezzlement of deposit money and was retried for embezzlement of auction dividends, receiving a 4-year prison sentence in the first trial.
The appellate court merged the two cases and set a new sentence, ruling that "all criminal facts are recognized as guilty." It further stated, "Since each criminal fact against the defendant is in a cumulative relationship under the Criminal Act and one sentence must be imposed, the two original judgments cannot be maintained," and added, "The sentence is imposed with reference to the sentencing conditions of the first trial and the sentencing standards of the Supreme Court."
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