"Gulped Down" 1.4 Billion Won of Company Money Over 12 Years…Court Sentences Two-Faced Employee to 5 Years in Prison

Manipulated account transfers about 1,100 times from right after joining the company, squandering it on living expenses
-Bench: "A long-continued crime…no effort to remedy the damage, so severe punishment is unavoidable"

An employee who secretly siphoned off a large sum of company money and used it privately for over ten years received a prison sentence.

The 12th Criminal Division of the Ulsan District Court sentenced Ms. A, a woman in her 50s indicted on charges including occupational embezzlement, to 5 years in prison on the 3rd of last month.

Ms. A was suspected of having, over about 12 years after joining a company as an accounting employee in 2013, siphoned off about 1.4 billion won of company money across about 1,100 occasions.

The investigation confirmed that Ms. A falsely recorded bank transfer histories as if normally paying goods payments or labor costs to business partners, while in reality siphoning the money into accounts under her own and family members' names and using it for living expenses and the like. It was also revealed that she disguised business as being conducted by fabricating false documents and swindled company funds by having fake tax invoices issued.

Mr. B, who runs the company, claimed to have suffered enormous financial losses due to Ms. A's long-term crime. He strongly urged severe punishment, saying that this had dealt a blow to management overall and also greatly damaged trust relationships with business partners.

The court sentenced Ms. A to 5 years in prison. The bench said, "The defendant's crime began around the time she joined the company and continued over a long period of about ten years until it was discovered, and the amount swindled during that time is by no means small," adding, "The defendant has not been forgiven by the victim and, moreover, is making no particular effort to remedy the damage, so severe punishment is unavoidable."

Attorney Im Seok-pil of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. B, explained, "This case is a crime that deceived the trust of a company that entrusted fund management to an employee and shook the very foundation of the business," adding, "Given the nature of an embezzlement crime carried out cunningly over a long period, we focused on objectively proving the act of deception and the exact scale of the damage to draw out severe punishment." whyjay@sportsseoul.com

Reporter Shin Jae-yu

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