18 billion won jeonse fraud offender, 2nd degree, 15 years in prison, heavy sentence maintained... What about compensation?

Busan District Court "Dismisses defendant's appeal"... Victims "We should not go to the Supreme Court"

Last month, in the first trial of the 18 billion won rental fraud case in Busan, the court sentenced the defendant to a heavier sentence than the prosecution recommended, saying, "It is a serious crime of using the rental deposit, which is almost all the property of ordinary people, as a means of seeking profit." On the 20th, the appeals court also upheld this judgment. The victims and civil society reacted by saying that a natural conclusion had been reached.
 
Criminal Division 4-1 of the Busan District Court dismissed the appeal of Mr. Choi, in his 50s, who was indicted on fraud charges at the sentencing hearing held in courtroom 354 on this day. The court, which considered the original trial's sentence to be appropriate, did not accept the defendant's argument, saying, "There are no special circumstances to change it." After the first trial sentence, Mr. Choi immediately submitted an appeal, saying that the sentence was severe.
 
Mr. Choi was handed over to trial on charges of failing to return 18 billion won in rental deposits received from 229 tenants of 9 buildings, including studio apartments, through capital-free gap investment from 2020 to January of last year. Initially, the amount of damage at the indictment stage was 16 billion won, but the amount increased as additional damage was confirmed.
 
Regarding this, Choi's lawyer protested, saying, "We are making efforts to repay," but the prosecution requested a 13-year prison sentence from the court due to his denial of the crime and lack of remorse. However, Detective 1 of the Eastern Branch of the Busan District Court in charge of the case increased the actual sentence to 15 years. The crime is serious and the social harm is great, so a heavy sentence is inevitable.
 
At the time of the ruling, the judge's courtroom remarks that made the victim cry received attention. Chief Judge Park Joo-young, who introduced the names of those who collected the deposit from Mr. Choi and the contents of the petition, pointed out the problem of the social system that created good victims, saying, "Please never blame yourself or blame yourself." He said he desperately hopes for their return to normal life.
 
Since the appeals court also found that there was no problem with the first trial's ruling, if Choi does not knock on the door of a higher trial, the sentence could be confirmed as is. However, victims were concerned about the possibility of going to the Supreme Court. Mr. Choi, in his 30s, a victim of a rental fraud who left the court, said, "I did not receive a deposit, and there was no apology. It would be completely unacceptable to appeal after causing such pain."
 
Despite successive convictions, compensation for the damage they are suffering is difficult to resolve.Son Soo-yeon (Daeryun Law Firm), the victim's lawyer, said, "Even though the sentence was maintained, there was no actual damage recovered, so it seems like we need to look into civil affairs, etc." and added, "The victims would normally try to reach a settlement at this level, but they feel devastated by the defendant who has not even said an apology to the point of being shameless."
 
Civil society also agreed with the victim's claim and the court's judgment. An official from the Busan Civil Society Countermeasures Committee to resolve the problem of jeonse fraud and tin rent, which is formed by the Busan People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and Busan People's Movement, pointed out, "This is a result of reaffirming that jeonse fraud is a serious social crime," and added, "As Mr. Choi spoke of forgiveness and payment for his crimes in his court statement, he must accept the sentence and begin to recover as a victim."

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