A woman in her 70s who drove a luxury sedan and used her child's card while posing as a basic livelihood recipient to pocket tens of millions of won in illicit gains received a suspended prison sentence on appeal as well.
According to legal sources on the 11th, the Criminal Division 3 of the Gwangju District Court (Chief Judge Kim Il-su) dismissed the appeal of A (75), who was indicted on charges of violating the National Basic Living Security Act, and upheld the lower court's sentence of eight months in prison, suspended for two years. The court said, "Given that it is difficult to find a sense of law-abidingness in the defendant, the lower court's decision is justified."
A is accused of unlawfully receiving 54 million won in basic livelihood benefits from Gwangju's Seo District from Jan. 2021 to Nov. 2023. Over about 240 instances, A received 43.92 million won in medical benefits, 3.6 million won in housing benefits, and 6.7 million won in livelihood benefits.
However, A was found to have bought and driven a used Equus sedan under an acquaintance's name, used a debit card in a son's name or received hundreds of thousands of won to cover living expenses. A also received monthly rent for the residence from B, with whom A is in a de facto marriage.
During the trial, while acknowledging wrongdoing, A argued, "The government is also responsible. I became a benefit recipient because I had no contact with my children, but the district office says receiving assistance from family members violates eligibility. I think telling me to sever blood ties with my children is wrong."
Earlier, in the first trial, the court found that "the defendant's culpability is poor for fraudulently receiving various benefits without reporting changes in income and assets." However, taking into account that the amounts paid during the fraudulent receipt period are expected to be recovered, the court imposed a suspended prison sentence.