Prison and Fine for Posing as Korea Representative of Labor Ministry

Who this helps

This may help readers who want to know how a court judged a claim of posing as an official representative to receive money. It may also help those curious how the court split guilty and not guilty parts in a case involving foreign trainees' money.

Case overview

Case number

2010고합1050

Court

Seoul Central District Court

Posted on original board

Jul 20, 2011 (Wed)

Topic

Criminal Cases

Original title (Korean)

피고인이 아비도프, 라힘바바예프, 유가이 등과 공모하여, 피고인이 마치 우리나라와 우즈베키스탄 정부의 승인을 얻어…

The case concerns a defendant who, together with others, deceived people into believing the defendant was the Korea representative of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, approved by the governments of both countries. The defendant is said to have had victims, who had received money from Uzbek industrial trainees under names such as management fees, commissions and pensions, send that money to an account managed by the defendant. The defendant denied this, saying the defendant was lawfully appointed and acted only as an intermediary.

Is it fraud to pose as an official Korea representative and receive money transfers?

The defendant was accused of acting with others to pass himself off as the Korea representative of a labor ministry approved by two governments. The money was fees, commissions and pensions that the victims had received from Uzbek industrial trainees, and it was sent to accounts he managed. He denied it, saying he was lawfully appointed and only acted as an intermediary. The court relied on the victims' statements and judicial assistance requested from Uzbekistan to find part of it guilty.

How the court ruled

Based on the victims' statements and judicial assistance requested from Uzbekistan, the court found the defendant guilty. The parts in which totals of 1,402,671,730 won, 661,407,280 won and 17,944,450 won were received from three victim parties respectively are guilty. The part of 202,768,469 won, recognized as received as salary or commission, is not guilty. For the part of 3,841,842,249 won, for which the victims and number of persons were not specified, the prosecution was dismissed. The defendant was sentenced to imprisonment for 3 years and a fine of 1 billion won (KRW).

What to check in a similar situation

Related procedures can be checked with the court that holds the case record and with immigration offices for information on foreign trainees. The full judgment can be checked at the court concerned.

• Find support centers
• Emergency phone numbers
• Contacts: Korea Legal Aid Corporation 132

Terms explained

impersonation

Presenting oneself as having an identity or position one does not actually have. Here, it meant presenting himself as a government-approved Korea representative.

obtaining by deception

Getting money or property from someone by tricking them.

judicial assistance

A procedure for asking another country for materials or cooperation needed in a trial. Here, assistance requested from Uzbekistan was one basis for the guilty finding.

dismissal of indictment

A decision that ends the case without judging the merits because the charge was not specified enough. Here, it applied to the part where victims and numbers were not specified.

More rulings on this topic

• Ruling sentencing a defendant to 1 year in prison for illegal entry, illegal stay and aiding another person's illegal entry · Busan District Court
• Students' submission of bank balance certificate found to be an application by improper means · Seoul Eastern District Court
• Court upholds departure order for foreign national fined for drunk driving · Daegu District Court

See all 28 rulings on Criminal Cases →

Frequently asked questions

Which parts did the court find guilty?

The court found guilty the parts where money was received from three victims, totaling 1,402,671,730 won, 661,407,280 won and 17,944,450 won.

Were there parts found not guilty or dismissed?

The part of 202,768,469 won recognized as received as salary or commission was not guilty. The part of 3,841,842,249 won, where victims and numbers were not specified, was dismissed.

Does this result apply as is to similar cases?

It is the judgment of that case only and does not apply as is to other cases.