Woman Gets 5 Years for Embezzling 730 Million Won From Brother-in-Law's Company

A woman in her 40s who embezzled over 730 million won ($540,000) from her brother-in-law's company while working as an accounting manager has been sentenced to five years in prison.

The Bucheon branch of Incheon District Court's Criminal Division 1, presided over by Judge Yeo Hyun-ju, convicted the former accounting employee, identified only as A, of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, the court said Wednesday.

A was indicted for siphoning off approximately 730 million won through 553 separate transactions from corporate accounts between January 2014 and December 2020 while working at a Gimpo-based manufacturing company headed by her brother-in-law, identified as B.

Investigators found she used a digital certificate and one-time password (OTP) linked to the corporate accounts to transfer funds. She moved company money to her own and family members' accounts while writing transfer memos to make it appear the funds were being sent to business partners, and did not submit expenditure approval documents.

The embezzled funds were used to pay 1.5 million to 2 million won monthly for her children's English education, as well as family insurance premiums, taxes and shopping expenses, according to the court.

B discovered the crime in late 2021 when the Gimpo Tax Office requested documentation to explain discrepancies in reported income. B had already been paying A a monthly salary of 4.5 million won and had provided her with additional financial assistance on multiple occasions. Even after discovering the embezzlement, he waited three months to give her a chance to explain herself.

However, A responded during the trial by making excuses such as claiming her brother-in-law had also misused company funds, and has not returned the embezzled money.

"B and his wife, who had trusted the defendant, must have suffered not only financial damage but also considerable emotional distress from this crime," the court said. "Before explaining her own actions, the defendant brought her lawyer to threaten them and attempted to isolate B and his wife from their family."

The court added, "The defendant has consistently offered incomprehensible excuses in court while shifting blame to others. Given her highly inappropriate conduct following the crime, severe punishment commensurate with her culpability is warranted."