A broadcasting writer, referred to as A, who extorted 2.6 billion won from Lee Min-woo, a member of the group Shinhwa and a solo singer, had the nine-year prison sentence handed down by a lower court overturned by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court believed some actions involving transferring the fraudulently obtained money to other accounts may not constitute separate crimes and should be reviewed.
The second division of the Supreme Court (presided by Justice Kim Sang-hwan) announced on the 27th that it overturned the lower court's decision, which had sentenced A to nine years in prison for fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, and remanded the case to the Seoul High Court.
The Supreme Court judged that transferring portions of previously acquired loan money through the victim's other accounts into the defendant's or another person's account might be considered "post-crime acts that are not punishable." Similar to how no separate offense of property destruction is established if a thief breaks a stolen object, transferring already defrauded money might not be considered an additional crime.
The Supreme Court ruled, "The lower court should have further examined whether each transferred sum was separate from the loan money in question and whether the defendant's transfer actions increased or created new legal harm to the victim."
A committed the crime by exploiting acquaintance with Lee Min-woo's sister's friend. In June 2019, when Lee Min-woo was booked by police on suspicion of molesting two women at a bar in Gangnam, Seoul, A approached him. A deceived him by claiming, "I have connections in the prosecution and can help you get a not-guilty decision. Money is needed for high-ranking prosecution officials."
Despite not having any real connections with high-ranking prosecution officials, A continued the crime even after Lee Min-woo was cleared of charges due to insufficient evidence without A's help. A then falsely claimed, "The prosecutors who took the money are in a difficult situation and intend to reverse the decision," and demanded more money, even misappropriating a 740 million won loan taken out with Lee Min-woo's house as collateral.
Both the first and second trials recognized all charges against A as guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison. The appellate court noted, "A psychologically dominated Lee Min-woo, and the victim was psychologically intimidated," explaining, "A repeatedly made demeaning remarks to Lee Min-woo, to the point that Lee Min-woo heard them as hallucinations when alone."
In court, Lee Min-woo testified, "At the time, I thought A was the only person who could help me." Over 26 months, he handed over a total of more than 2.6 billion won and gave 218 luxury items to A. The appellate court declared, "Lee Min-woo, who has lost the wealth accumulated over a lifetime, is suffering severe economic and emotional distress."
During the trial, A claimed, "I merely loaned money to Lee Min-woo, not swindled him." However, the court pointed out, "While A's excuses are incomprehensible, the victim has lost all his assets and has not recovered any losses."