A woman who worked as a financial manager at her brother-in-law's company and embezzled around 700 million won from the corporate account has been brought to trial and sentenced to prison.
On December 15, the Bucheon Branch of the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Yeo Hyunju) announced that it had sentenced A, a former accounting staff member in her 40s at a manufacturing company in Gimpo, to five years in prison for embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
A was indicted on charges of siphoning off a total of approximately 730 million won from the company’s corporate account in 553 separate transactions while working as an accounting staff member from January 2014 to December 2020. The company was headed by her brother-in-law, B, who served as CEO.
She joined the company at the end of 2013 and was put in charge of financial management. Investigations revealed that she used the corporate account’s digital certificate and one-time password (OTP) device to transfer funds illicitly.
A transferred the company’s funds to her own and her family members’ accounts, sometimes writing transfer memos to make it appear as if payments were being made to business partners, and did not submit any separate expenditure resolutions for the funds.
It was found that she used the embezzled funds to pay 1.5 to 2 million won per month for her children’s English education, as well as for family insurance premiums, taxes, shopping, and other personal expenses.
In late 2021, B was asked by the Gimpo Tax Office to submit documents explaining unreported income. During the verification process, he discovered his sister-in-law’s crimes.
B had already provided A with financial support on several occasions in addition to her monthly salary of 4.5 million won, and after discovering her crimes, he even waited three months to give her a chance to explain herself.
However, during the trial, A defended herself by claiming, "Didn’t my brother-in-law also misuse company funds?" and did not return the embezzled money.
The court stated, "B and his wife, who trusted the defendant, appear to have suffered not only financial loss but also significant emotional distress due to this crime. Before explaining her actions, the defendant brought a lawyer to threaten them and attempted to isolate B and his wife from the rest of the family."
The court continued, "Even in court, the defendant has continued to make unconvincing excuses and shift responsibility. Given her extremely poor conduct after the crime, there is a clear need for a severe punishment commensurate with her guilt," explaining the reasons for sentencing.
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