The people involved in the Optimus Asset Management case, which were sentenced to a heavy sentence in the first trial on charges of large-scale fund fraud, also shifted responsibility to each other in the appeals trial.
At the first trial of the appeals trial held at the Seoul High Court today (14th), Optimus CEO Kim Jae-hyun's attorney said, "I was not involved in fund fraud before January 2019." claimed.
He also blamed Mr. Yoo, an advisor to Skin & Skin, saying, "Defendant Yoo Hyun-kwon was in charge of fund management."
Yoo was sentenced to 7 years in prison in the first trial on charges of participating in 'blocking funds'.
Kim's side also insisted, "The 25-year prison sentence of the original trial is harsh as it is virtually equivalent to a life sentence."
The attorney for Lee Dong-yeol, the second largest shareholder of Optimus, also argued, "The defendant did not know the structure of the fraudulent fund."
Optimus Director Yoon Seok-ho's attorney admitted that he did not actively participate in the crime even though he admitted all the charges the first trial judged guilty, and said the sentence was too heavy.
The court decided to hold the first official trial on the 5th of next month to confirm the specific claims of the prosecution and each defendant.
Previously, Kim and others were put on trial on charges such as collecting about 1.3 trillion won from April 2018 to June last year under the pretext of investing in trade receivables in public institutions and using them to take over bad debts and prevent funds from returning. .
The first trial pleaded guilty to most of the charges and sentenced Kim to 25 years in prison and a fine of 500 million won, and ordered an additional 75.175 billion won.
Lee and Yoon were sentenced to 8 years in prison, and Yoo was sentenced to 7 years in prison.