When I asked him to repay the money, he said, "There is no obligation to repay with gambling funds." The law said, "Pay the full amount."

The court ruled that a debtor who had borrowed money from an acquaintance and failed to repay it, claiming it was "gambling money," must pay the full amount.

According to the legal community on the 14th, the Gangneung Branch of Chuncheon District Court ruled in favor of all plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed by Plaintiff A against Defendant B on the 11th of last month, requesting the return of rental money.

Mr. A, who worked as a hold'em pub dealer, lent about 12 million won to Mr. B, whom he met as a customer, for about two months starting in February 2024 in the name of business funds, living expenses, and repayment of existing gambling debts.

However, Mr. B refused to repay the amount, claiming that the money he received was 'illegal wages' that he had no obligation to repay under civil law.

According to Article 746 of the Civil Code, if property is provided or labor is provided due to illegal reasons, the return of the profits cannot be claimed.

Accordingly, Mr. A filed a lawsuit.

There is no reason to lend gambling funds to Mr. B.

During the trial, Mr. A continued to discourage Mr. B from gambling, and at the time, Mr. B emphasized that he had borrowed money, citing the need for business funds, not gambling.

The court ruled in Mr. A’s favor.

The court explained, “It is acknowledged that the defendant asked the plaintiff to lend him money needed for business or earnestly asked him to lend him money to repay existing gambling debts.”

In addition, he explained, “Even if the plaintiff knew about the defendant’s gambling, part of the loan money appears to have been paid for living expenses unrelated to the defendant’s gambling, and the remaining money is not for new gambling funds, but to repay already accrued gambling debts, so it cannot be considered as wages for illegal reasons.”

Attorney Park Da-jeong of Daeryun Law Firm, who served as Mr. A's legal representative, said, "When a debtor tries to evade debt by claiming illegal benefits, he or she must accurately prove the purpose at the time of the loan. Through objective evidence such as KakaoTalk conversations, we were able to obtain a favorable ruling by proving that the purpose of the loan was not to encourage new illegal activities, but to repay existing debt or fund business."
 

Shin Min-ji (sourminjee@ikbc.co.kr)

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When asked to repay the money, "there is no obligation to repay with gambling funds"...Law "Pay the full amount" (Shortcut)