▲ Daejeon District Court
A jeonse fraudster who swindled 14.4 billion won and was initially sentenced to just eight months in prison due to a judge's absurd verbal error has been sentenced to eight years in prison in an appellate trial.
The Daejeon District Court's Criminal Division 2-2 overturned the original verdict in the second trial of the defendant, identified as A, who was charged with fraud.
A is accused of deceiving 127 victims in the Daejeon area over two years starting in 2021, pocketing approximately 14.4 billion won in security deposits.
Investigations revealed that the perpetrators committed the crime by constructing multi-household houses through "no-capital gap investment" schemes, despite having no ability to return the deposits.
The case sparked significant controversy during the first trial when the prison term announced verbally by the judge differed from the sentence written in the written judgment.
During the first sentencing hearing held in February, the court read out the order, stating, "I sentence defendant A to eight months in prison."
In contrast, two accomplices were given much heavier prison sentences of six years and two years and six months, respectively.
However, when the defendant's side received the written judgment a few days later, A's sentence was recorded as eight years, not eight months.
The presiding judge had misspoken the number during the hearing.
A's defense team immediately demanded the written judgment be corrected, arguing that "what is pronounced verbally in court takes precedence."
The actual written judgment contained a stern reprimand, noting that A had led the crime but showed no remorse and made no efforts to compensate the victims.
However, in accordance with legal regulations, the written judgment was corrected, and A's first-instance sentence was finalized at eight months in prison, as announced in court.
The prosecution immediately appealed, arguing that "an eight-month sentence is too lenient."
The appellate court accepted the prosecution's argument and sentenced A to eight years in prison, the term that should have been originally handed down.
The appellate court pointed out, "The defendant's crime is extremely grave, as he swindled 14.4 billion won from numerous victims who are economically vulnerable."
The court further rebuked the defendant, stating, "Despite leading the crime, he continues to evade responsibility by claiming his role was merely auxiliary, even during the appellate trial."
The appeals filed by the two accomplices were both dismissed, and their original prison sentences from the first trial were upheld.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.