A controversy has erupted at Daejeon District Court after a judge's orally pronounced sentence differed from the written verdict, creating a tenfold discrepancy in the prison term.
According to legal circles on Sunday, a criminal division judge at Daejeon District Court read out the sentence "I sentence you to 8 months in prison" during a jeonse fraud case ruling on January 16. However, the written verdict subsequently delivered to the defendant stated a prison term of 8 years.
The defendant, identified as A, was indicted along with two accomplices for defrauding 127 victims of approximately 14.4 billion won ($10.6 million) between 2021 and 2023. The scheme involved signing multi-family housing lease contracts in the Daejeon area while deceiving victims into believing their jeonse (lump-sum deposit lease) deposits would be properly returned.
The written verdict stated that A masterminded the jeonse fraud operation and played a central role throughout the criminal scheme. The court determined that the scale of the crime and extent of damage were severe, warranting an 8-year prison sentence. The two co-defendants received sentences of 6 years and 2 years and 6 months, respectively.
A's legal team filed a motion to correct the verdict, arguing that the sentence orally pronounced by the presiding judge in court was 8 months, but the court rejected the request. The defense has since filed a special appeal with the Supreme Court.
"We filed the motion for verdict correction and the special appeal on the grounds that the orally pronounced sentence in court should take precedence and the written verdict should be amended accordingly," A's legal representative said. "For now, we have filed an appeal based on the written verdict of 8 years. If the special appeal is rejected, we will contest the sentence in the second trial."