NongHyup Contract Employees Sentenced to Prison in Appeal for Secretly Selling KRW 700 Million Worth of Rice Meant for School Meals

Warehouse Audit Uncovers Embezzlement After Three Years

Appeals Court Rejects Appeal, Citing "Serious Offenses"

Rice sack. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Contract employees of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NongHyup) who diverted rice intended for school meals for personal gain have received prison sentences again in their appeals trial.

The Jeonju Criminal Division 1 of the Gwangju High Court (Presiding Judge Jeong Moon-gyeong) announced on the 26th that it had dismissed the appeals of Defendant A (36), who was charged with violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (Embezzlement), and Defendant B (38), who was charged with occupational embezzlement, thereby upholding the original sentences of four years and one year in prison, respectively.

A and B, contract employees of a NongHyup branch in North Jeolla Province, were indicted for selling rice, glutinous rice, and beans diverted from a grain warehouse in Jeonju between 2021 and 2024 to rice mills and other buyers at low prices. The value of the grains each sold amounted to KRW 620 million for A and KRW 80 million for B.

A unlawfully gained KRW 110 million from this crime, while B obtained approximately KRW 15 million in illegal profits.

The warehouse operated by NongHyup was used to store rice for school meals supplied to elementary, middle, and high schools in Jeonju. At the time, A and others were responsible for meal delivery, inventory management, inspection, and ordering. Over the course of 138 separate occasions, they gradually siphoned off grains.

Their crimes were uncovered after about three years when NongHyup, suspicious of missing warehouse inventory, conducted an internal audit in April 2024.

The appeals court stated, "Given the circumstances, nature, means, and methods of the crimes, the defendants' offenses are extremely serious and highly culpable. The defendants have yet to fully compensate for the damages and have not been forgiven by the victim, NongHyup." The court added, "Considering these circumstances, it is difficult to conclude that the original sentences fall outside the reasonable scope of judicial discretion due to being excessively severe."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.