Former president of Gangwon Law Society, who embezzled 1.3 billion won in public funds, appeals for leniency, saying, “I will pay it all back”

Steal membership fees and deductions and use them to repay debts... Prosecutor seeks 3 years in prison

(Chuncheon = Yonhap News) Reporter Kang Tae-hyun = The prosecutor requested three years in prison for the former president of the Gangwon Local Lawyers Association, who was indicted on charges of embezzling approximately 1.36 billion won in public funds from the Association of Justice and using it to repay personal debt.

At the first trial and decision trial for the case of Mr. A (61), accused of embezzlement under the Specific Economic Crimes Act, held on the 12th at the Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 2 (Chief Judge Seong-rae Kim), the prosecutor requested a 3-year prison term and an order for collection of 794,919,500 won.

Mr. A's lawyer said in his final argument, "The defendant acknowledged the facts of the indictment, is reflecting on his mistakes, and recovered considerable damage by returning 519 million won, equivalent to 38.2% of the damage."

He then appealed for leniency, saying, "I have since resigned as chairman, submitted a detailed repayment plan to the Law Society, and plan to steadily repay the damages."

Mr. A also said in his final statement, "I would like to apologize to everyone," and "I will do my best to ensure that all repayments are made."

Mr. A was handed over to trial on charges of embezzling approximately 1.36 billion won from August 2022 to April of last year while managing a public fund account in which legal society dues and deductions were deposited.

As a result of the investigation, it was revealed that Mr. A used most of the stolen money for office operating expenses and personal debt repayment.

Previously, in June of last year, the Law Society discovered the circumstances of Mr. A's embezzlement through its own audit and reported him to the police.

The Law Society's own audit found that the amount of embezzlement was about 800 million won, but when the police investigated Mr. A's card use history and bankbook transaction details, the amount of embezzlement increased to about 1.36 billion won.

Mr. A resigned from his position as chairman due to this incident.

The sentencing hearing will be held on January 14th next year.