A civil ruling ordered Tae, the eldest son of former lawmaker Thae Yong-ho who was indicted on charges of stealing money under the pretext of investment funds by touting that he was a lawmaker's son, to compensate the victim with a little over 800 million won.
According to legal sources on the 5th, the Civil Agreement Division 30 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Seok-beom) recently ordered Tae to pay A about 867 million won and delayed interest in a damages lawsuit.
In May 2024, A reportedly received a proposal from Tae for a stablecoin exchange business and handed over virtual assets and cash worth about 1.1 billion won. A later learned in September 2024, when police began a full-fledged investigation of Tae, that the money had been embezzled and filed a civil suit. Tae defected to Korea in 2016, following a father who was serving as a minister at the North Korean Embassy in the United Kingdom.
The court recognized liability for compensation, finding that Tae flaunted being a lawmaker's son and his connections with police to gain A's trust and used it to commit the crime. The ruling was finalized on the 24th of last month as Tae did not appeal.
Meanwhile, Tae was indicted and detained in May on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes for taking about 1.4 billion won from acquaintances by saying he would invest in virtual assets on their behalf and generate "revenue." Prosecutors believe Tae solicited investment funds by touting that he was a lawmaker's son and then embezzled them without investing in virtual assets.