This article was posted on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 1:27 p.m. on Oct. 2, 2025.
Police are expanding an investigation into a case in which the founder and CEO of SENSEE, known as a social enterprise that produced braille content for the visually impaired, allegedly embezzled funds. The investigation widened after it was learned that Seo In-sik, SENSEE's founder and CEO, a serial entrepreneur who once said he "wanted to do business kindly" while raising investment, has already fled abroad.
According to venture capital (VC) industry sources and police, the investigation into allegations that SENSEE's founder and CEO embezzled investment funds was recently transferred to the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency. The case was first received by the Daejeon Jungbu Police Station, but was sent to the metropolitan agency because of the seriousness of the case and the need for a dedicated investigation. Divisional assignment and forcible investigation have not been decided.
The Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency is reportedly planning procedures such as tracking Seo In-sik's whereabouts and expanding witness interviews. It is also understood to plan to secure materials from investor presentations, original accounting books and records of transactions by overseas corporations to examine the existence of accounts receivable and the flow of funds.
Seo is accused of embezzling investment funds and fleeing. Specifically, Seo transferred about 23 billion won of the roughly 30 billion won he received from ATP Investment and Korea Investment & Securities during last year's Series B funding round to an account of the U.S. company TRT. He then left for the United States and disappeared.
The police investigation began in early last month after reports from the company and institutional investors, including shareholders. In addition to ATP Investment and Korea Investment & Securities, which participated in the Series B funding, Kudos Ventures, Megacast and Hana Securities had joined early as investors and were listed as major shareholders.
SENSEE was considered a promising company in the venture investment market. Although it started in 2015 as a social enterprise producing braille content for the visually impaired, it was regarded as a social enterprise that made money through sales of braille content programs and braille books instead of relying on government support and subsidies.
SENSEE promoted its key technology as the program that converts text to braille, SENSEE. The core claim was that using the SENSEE program, which applied artificial intelligence technology, reduced time and expense compared with a structure where people convert and publish braille content manually. The company also established a factory in the Paju publishing complex in Gyeonggi Province.
VCs said they were captivated by Seo's investment pitch. It was reported that Seo explained he founded the social enterprise SENSEE with the idea of doing something meaningful as a serial entrepreneur who repeatedly founded and exited companies. Seo also emphasized that it was a good startup for a family member with a visual impairment.
Kudos Ventures, a major shareholder that owned 6.2% of SENSEE, reportedly decided to invest on the day it met Seo in 2020. SENSEE used funds from Kudos Ventures to install braille printers at the Paju factory. Afterwards, Kudos Ventures was also given gifts such as braille calendars.
Observers say Seo's alleged embezzlement of investment funds and flight abroad were sparked by an external auditor's refusal to provide an opinion in May. The company had said it began full-scale overseas sales in 2024 and posted sales of 30.9 billion won, double the prior year, but HYUNDAI Accounting Corporation said it could not obtain audit evidence.
At the same time, questions arose in the market about whether SENSEE's performance was substantiated. Seo announced supply contracts for braille labels with domestic pharmaceutical and food companies and said SENSEE would produce braille textbooks with the Los Angeles (LA) Unified School District, but physical products were not seen in the market.
In the meantime, performance reportedly doubled each year. Sales of 9.9 billion won in 2022 were announced as 14.4 billion won in 2023. Last year's sales were 30.9 billion won. SENSEE also said it was generating operating profit. Operating profit was 3.7 billion won in 2022 and 3.6 billion won in 2023. Last year's operating profit jumped to 9 billion won.
The company had cited overseas sales as the basis for the increase in revenue. It explained that Korea has about 250,000 people with visual impairments, but only 20,000 to 30,000 actually need braille because some with level 6 disabilities can drive; therefore, it said 80% of total sales came from countries such as the United States, and investors believed it.
But industry sources say this was false. They explain that there was no U.S. revenue, and the technological capability is likely not real.
Some criticize that investors did not perform even minimal post-investment oversight. Given that more than half of SENSEE's reported revenue consisted of TRT accounts receivable in the United States, the fact that those receivables did not translate into cash inflows was alone sufficient reason for suspicion, yet they did not examine it.
In fact, HYUNDAI Accounting Corporation's refusal to provide an audit opinion for SENSEE was reportedly due to the company's failure to substantiate its accounts receivable. That means it could not verify the existence of transactions SENSEE said it had entered into in the United States, and police also view SENSEE's decision to flee abroad as an attempt to avoid exposure of fraudulent contracts.
Meanwhile, SENSEE says it will cooperate in clarifying Seo's alleged personal embezzlement while continuing business operations, but it is understood to be experiencing operational disruptions. The Paju factory SENSEE used as a braille book production base has closed its doors, and the number of employees plunged from 48 at the beginning of this year to 21 in August.
SENSEE said it would cooperate with the police investigation while making efforts to save the company.