'780 billion won repayment delay' Lumen Payments case goes to second trial

[Financial News] Kim In-hwan, CEO of the electronic payment service provider (PG) Lumen Payments, who was tried for causing a delay in repayment of 780 billion won, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the first trial, and both the prosecution and the defendant appealed the verdict.
According to the legal community on the 3rd, CEO Kim, who was indicted on charges of fraud and embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, submitted an appeal to the Seoul Southern District Court on the 25th of last month. Three days later, the prosecution also submitted an appeal to the court, resulting in a mutual appeal. The case, in which Mr. Seo, who was also indicted for aiding Kim's crime, also appealed, will proceed to the second trial.
CEO Kim was tried for fraudulently obtaining a 'pre-settlement loan' of 72 billion won from the online investment-linked finance company Cross Financial by using a paper company to secure false credit card sales receivables as collateral. It was also investigated that he received another pre-settlement loan of 6 billion won from another company using the same method and did not repay it. 
Kim is also charged with using a total of 39.7 billion won from Lumen Payments for personal purposes in 408 instances from December 2022 to March last year, and misappropriating 1.068 billion won from four places, including Lumen Financial, in 30 instances from November 2022 to August last year.
Mr. Seo, who operated an application software development and supply company, was indicted on charges of aiding fraud by creating a system necessary for the crime at the request of CEO Kim from January 2022 to August 2024.
Earlier, in the sentencing hearing held in May, the prosecution sought 30 years in prison and a fine of 40.8 billion won for CEO Kim, and 3 years in prison for Mr. Seo.
However, CEO Kim pleaded for leniency, saying, "I thought I could repay the loan by working hard," and "I am still young and have the will and ability to restart the business, so I will find a way to repay the loan to the victims and deeply reflect to ensure this never happens again." Mr. Seo also said, "I am truly sorry to the victims who suffered because of the program made by the company," and "I am really sorry and sorry, but I ask for leniency just this once."
The first trial court pointed out, "This crime was carried out very meticulously and systematically, and the scale is an astronomical amount of 78.3 billion won," adding, "No compensation has been made to the victims, and the innocent investors seem to have suffered considerable mental anguish, and the victims are pleading for severe punishment."
However, "If the victims had been more careful, they could have detected the crime, and the fact that the crime continued for a long time and the investors suffered actual damage is also partly due to the victims' responsibility," and "The fact that some recovery is possible through seizure and preservation measures on real estate and stocks was considered a favorable circumstance," the court ruled.
Accordingly, the first trial court sentenced CEO Kim to 15 years in prison and ordered the confiscation of approximately 40.8 billion won. Mr. Seo was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison with a 4-year probation.



welcome@fnnews.com Jang Yu-ha Reporter