Intellectually Disabled Individual Labeled as 'Suspect' by Police Cleared of Charges After Prosecutors' Investigation

[The Financial News] It was belatedly revealed that an intellectually disabled person who had been investigated for embezzlement was exonerated after a supplementary investigation by prosecutors.
According to the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office on the 5th, Mr. A, who had been identified as a suspect in an embezzlement case at a mobile phone consignment sales company in Eunpyeong-gu, was cleared of charges following a direct supplementary investigation by prosecutors.
Prosecutors began their investigation in May last year and, after conducting a forensic analysis of Mr. A's mobile phone, discovered evidence that the conversation records had been manipulated. They also found, through a recorded loan consultation, that Mr. B had instructed Mr. A on how to respond. Additional testimony from business partners revealed that Mr. B was actually running the business and had misappropriated sales proceeds.
Previously, the Seoul Seobu Police Station had referred Mr. A as a suspect in December 2022, based on the fact that the business was registered under Mr. A's name and conversation records indicated that Mr. A had given instructions to Mr. B.
Prosecutors, believing that Mr. A, who has a severe intellectual disability, was unlikely to have orchestrated the crime, requested supplementary investigations twice, but the police maintained their original stance each time.
As a result, in May last year, prosecutors launched a direct investigation, confirmed that the conversation records between Mr. A and Mr. B had been manipulated, and identified Mr. B as the real perpetrator.
From December 2021 to January 2022, Mr. B was accused of embezzling approximately 52.9 million won by arbitrarily disposing of mobile phones entrusted by clients or using sales proceeds while operating the business. He was indicted without detention in August last year. In April, the court sentenced Mr. B to one year in prison and took him into custody. The sentence was finalized in August after his appeal was dismissed.
A representative from the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office stated, "This is a case where the true perpetrator was identified through supplementary investigation, thereby exonerating a wrongfully accused suspect."
425_sama@fnnews.com Choi Seung-han Reporter