Thousands and tens of billions of embezzlers... how much money was returned

<Anchor>

Recently, there have been several cases of embezzlement of large sums of money from various companies, including the financial sector.

It is surprising that they stole tens or hundreds of billions of won, and there is also a question as to whether they are living well with the money they hid after living a moderate sentence.

<Reporter> The

damage was 188.7 billion won.

At the time of the Dong-A Construction embezzlement case in 2009, Mr. A claimed that he had "almost exhausted it on gambling and stocks."

However, the prosecution also found a villa with a 'secret room' behind the cabinet and recovered the cash buried in the vineyard.

[Lee Jeong-man / Special investigation team leader at the time, lawyer: I also found that I bought real estate, and I put 300 million won in a plastic bag in an acquaintance's vineyard and buried it...

.]

Still, only 8 billion won and a portion of real estate were recovered.

Mr. A was sentenced to prison in June 22, and is still serving a sentence in prison until he turns 61.

In 2012, Yeosu City Hall embezzled KRW 8 billion.

Embezzlement B and his wife were suspected of living a luxurious life with this money.

[Apartment sanitation worker: She seems to have

lived a graceful life with two dogs here, and that she lived a very frugal life...]

served a year.

Of the 14 billion won in fines and damages, about 1.8 billion won was recovered.

Although the redemption is in progress, as a result of the coverage, it seems difficult to completely recover as they have very little property and are living a difficult life while switching daily jobs.

Samsung Electronics also suffered from embezzlement 10 years ago.

Employee C stole 16.5 billion won over two years, and he also claimed that he had no money left.

[Kim Jae-hoon / At that time, the chief prosecutor in charge of the case, lawyer: I will kill you with my body. Then I will have to be prepared to spend the rest of my life in prison.

During the internal review process, when we finally indicted, I remember that they asked for 30 years in prison.]

However, the actual sentence was only 7 years in prison, and Samsung Electronics is still not receiving reimbursement.

Mr. C, who was released from prison, refused to answer a reporter's question about his repayment plan.

(Video coverage: Seo Jin-ho, video editing: Lee Hong-myeong)

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<Anchor>

Reporter Kim Hye-mi is here.

[Reporter Hyemin Kim: Actually, we couldn't show the report for a long time due to time constraints.

While covering the three embezzlement cases, I have tracked down the embezzlement and his family from various angles.

Then, in conclusion, we can all say that we are living unhappily.

Some were still imprisoned in prison, and even after being released from prison, they were living in hiding from the eyes of their neighbors.

Economic constraints were also severe, and he could not engage in these activities, such as owning real estate in his own name, because he did not know when the redemption would occur.

So, in a word, you are completely isolated from society.]

[Reporter Hyemin Kim: Let's take a look at these statistics first.

If you look at the statistics, it is the statistics of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and the number of embezzlement cases is increasing every year.

Nevertheless, the amount of this refund given below is extremely insignificant.

First of all, there is a reason. Most of these embezzlement cases occur in companies.

So the state has no obligation to accept this embezzlement.

So, the company has to pay the money back.

Even if you go through a civil lawsuit, it is not easy to get this money.

When I asked a company official about this, he said, "We are not loan sharks and it is not easy to get this money by chasing it directly."

The reason is because it is a commuter sentence.

However, once the verdict is finalized in court, the reason for that disappears now.]

[Reporter Hyemin Kim: First, if you embezzle a large amount of money, you will have to live in prison for a very long time. It is necessary to instill this awareness.

And we need a system in the country that makes it possible to pay back the embezzled amount, even the last penny.

Also, some experts suggest that there is a labor system in prisons, which is expanded a bit and applied to embezzlers.]