'13 Billion Won Loss Concealment' Shinhan Securities Employees Receive Reduced Sentences on Appeal

[Financial News] Employees of Shinhan Securities who incurred losses of approximately 130 billion won while trading Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) futures and concealed these losses have received reduced sentences in their appeal.
On the 23rd, the Seoul Southern District Court's Criminal Appellate Division 3-2, presided over by Kyu-Seol Cho, Yoo Hwan-woo, and Im Sun-ji, overturned the original three-year prison sentences for Mr. Cho, an ETF liquidity provider at Shinhan Securities, and Mr. Lee, his department head, and instead sentenced them to two years and six months for fraud and related charges.
The court stated, 'From the victim's perspective, there were both tangible and intangible damages caused by the defendants.' It added, 'Although a significant amount of compensation was provided, it is difficult to fully take this into account.'
Last August, these individuals allegedly attempted to conceal losses of about 130 billion won that occurred when the domestic stock market plummeted during futures trading. They registered false information in the company's IT system, claiming to have conducted a swap transaction that generated 130 billion won in profits.
In 2023, while managing overseas ETFs, they also manipulated the profit and loss records in the 'management accounting' system, which is used to calculate bonuses, after incurring losses of 108.5 billion won. It was found that they each received performance bonuses worth hundreds of millions of won through this accounting manipulation.
In the first trial, the court noted, 'As employees of a financial institution, the defendants acted outside the bounds of their professional duties and sought unjust gains.' The court also pointed out, 'They abused the trust of the victims to obtain illegal funds, and the severity of their crimes leaves no room for excuse.' Both were initially sentenced to three years in prison.
welcome@fnnews.com Jang Yoo-ha Reporter