5-Year Prison Sentence Sought for Eldest Son of Former Lawmaker Thae Yong-ho in '1.4 Billion Won Virtual Asset Fraud'

5-Year Prison Sentence Sought for Eldest Son of Former Lawmaker Thae Yong-ho in '1.4 Billion Won Virtual Asset Fraud'

Accused of swindling 1.4 billion won under the guise of virtual asset investment... Prosecution states, "Damages have not been recovered."

The prosecution has sought a five-year prison sentence for the eldest son of former People Power Party lawmaker Thae Yong-ho, who was indicted on charges of swindling 1.4 billion won through virtual asset investment fraud.

The prosecution made this request on the 7th at the first trial for Mr. Thae's case, involving charges such as fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes, held under the deliberation of the 25th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Heo Jeong-ryong).

The prosecution stated, "The amount of damage reaches 1.4 billion won, and the defendant exploited the trust relationship with the victims. The nature of the crime is grave, as he continued the offense through a so-called 'rolling over' scheme, paying off debts with money from other investors."

The prosecution stated that considering the fact that the damage has not been recovered to date and repayment of the damages is difficult to expect, they sought a five-year prison sentence for Mr. Thae.

In his final argument, Mr. Thae's lawyer pleaded for leniency, stating, "He admits his wrongdoing and has faithfully cooperated with the investigation by submitting financial transaction records and virtual asset transaction records to the investigative authorities."

Mr. Thae also said in his final statement, "I was wrong. Please show me leniency just once."

The court has designated September 2nd as the sentencing date.

Mr. Thae was arrested and indicted in May on charges of swindling approximately 1.4 billion won from acquaintances by promising to invest it in virtual assets and generate profits.

The prosecution believes that Mr. Thae received money under the guise of investment, leveraging the fact that he is the son of former lawmaker Thae, but did not actually invest it in virtual assets and instead embezzled it.

Previously, the same court ruled in a civil lawsuit related to this case that Mr. Thae must compensate the victim with approximately 800 million won.