The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 1 (Director General Lee Chun-geun) announced on the 9th that it had sentenced a man in his 70s, Mr. A, to 8 months in prison and ordered him to pay back 23.55 million won at the end of last month on charges including fraud.
Mr. A approached Mr. B, the head of a corporation, in 2019 and introduced himself by saying, "I worked in the Central Intelligence Agency during the Park Chung-hee administration and have experience in the Blue House as well, as a living power."
At that time, Mr. A reportedly asked Mr. B for money, saying he would help him win in a management dispute. He said, "The head of the investigation unit at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is an acquaintance of mine, and if you give me 40 million won, I will have the former executive, who is involved in the management dispute, arrested."
Mr. B trusted Mr. A and handed over a total of 23.55 million won over six months. Mr. A purchased a men's suit worth 1.15 million won with Mr. B's money, claiming it was a "bribe for the police."
Mr. A also demanded money under other pretenses. He said he would buy a pendant made from tiger teeth through connections in China to help the company succeed, and received 5.5 million won from Mr. B.
Later, Mr. B filed a fraud complaint against Mr. A. During the investigation and trial, Mr. A's lies were repeatedly exposed. His claims of being from the Central Intelligence Agency and having experience in the Blue House were unfounded. The tiger teeth pendant was a fake worth 34,000 won. An investigation found that it was over 85% likely to have been made from a beetle. Furthermore, Mr. A had previously been sentenced to 10 months in prison for fraud in 2018.
The court stated, "Mr. A approached the victim with the intention of deceiving him from the beginning, despite having a history of similar offenses," adding, "His intention and ability to keep promises were lacking, and this indicates poor character."