A man in his 60s has been sentenced to prison for extorting money from the family of a drug offender under the pretext of soliciting favors in the case.
According to legal sources on Saturday, the Busan District Court's Criminal Division 4 (presided over by Chief Judge Byun Sung-hwan) sentenced defendant A to six months in prison on charges of fraud and violating the Attorney-at-Law Act. His accomplice B, a man in his 50s indicted on the same charges, was fined 10 million won (approximately $7,000). The court also ordered each of them to forfeit roughly 3 million won.
A and his accomplice are accused of receiving a total of about 7 million won on two occasions in January 2019 from acquaintances and family members of C, a junior associate who had been arrested by police on drug charges. The pair allegedly boasted of personal ties with prosecutors to extract the money under the pretext of arranging favors in the case.
The investigation found that A and B had become acquainted while serving prison sentences for fraud, and conspired to commit the crime upon hearing of C's arrest. A deceived the victims by claiming he had close relationships with prosecutors, saying he was assisting investigations by providing information on drug distribution channels.
A reportedly went so far as to demand money with specific instructions, telling the victims, "I need to buy a luxury handbag for a female prosecutor I know in order to resolve the case."
"The defendants committed this crime without restraint during their repeat-offender period," Judge Byun said. "The methods used in the offense were also egregious."
