Voice Phishing Criminal Proceeds... State Now Required to Confiscate

Corrupt Property Confiscation Act Proposed by Park Kyuntaek Passes
Criminal Proceeds Presumed Upon Confirmation of Property or Likelihood in Specific Fraud Crimes
New Information Sharing for Confiscation and Collection... Enhanced Victim Reimbursement

A bill amending the law to require the state to confiscate and collect criminal proceeds from specific fraud crimes-such as voice phishing, multi-level marketing scams, and illegal fundraising schemes-and return them to victims has passed the National Assembly.

The partial amendment to the Act on Special Cases Concerning Confiscation and Recovery of Corrupt Property, sponsored by Park Kyuntaek, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Gwangsan-gap, Gwangju), was approved at the National Assembly plenary session the previous day.

Kyun-Taek Park, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Office of Kyun-Taek Park

Under the current law, the state may only confiscate and collect criminal proceeds at its discretion if the court determines that the victim cannot recover their losses on their own. As a result, even for the same type of crime, whether confiscation and collection are carried out has varied depending on the court’s decision, leading to ongoing issues. Given that voice phishing organizations often hide and launder funds through borrowed-name accounts and dispersed transfers, the current system-which requires prosecutors to prove the causal relationship for all criminal proceeds-has also been cited as a factor making victim recovery difficult.

The amendment mandates that the state must confiscate and collect criminal proceeds for specific fraud crimes. It also allows property acquired by the perpetrator during the crime period to be presumed as “crime victim property” if, considering the amount and timing of acquisition, there is sufficient likelihood that it constitutes criminal proceeds. In addition, the amendment establishes grounds for requesting tax and financial transaction information to enforce confiscation and collection.

Park stated, “It is now possible to swiftly deprive the criminal proceeds of fraud crimes such as voice phishing, which target an unspecified number of people, and return them to the victims,” adding, “I will continue to support the Lee Jae-myung administration’s focus on people’s livelihoods and practical governance through legislation that benefits the public.”