Jongno Gold Shop Owner Referred to Prosecution in Custody for 15 Billion Won Fraud

Deceived Customers and Acquaintances With Promises of "Dividend Payments"

146 Victims Identified... Police Investigating Additional Damages

A gold shop owner who deceived customers and embezzled gold and pooled savings has been handed over to the prosecution in custody.

The Financial Crimes Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on July 20 that gold shop owner, identified as Mr. A, has been arrested and referred to the prosecution on fraud charges in violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

Gold bar visual material. Not directly related to the article. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

According to the police, Mr. A is accused of exploiting the trust he built over years of running a gold shop in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to deceive customers and acquaintances. He allegedly persuaded them by saying, "I will sell gold at a price lower than the market rate," or "If you entrust me with your gold, I will pay you dividends," and then embezzled their gold and cash.

Mr. A would take advance payment from customers, promising to sell gold at a price lower than market value, and deliver the gold after one or two months. In the early stages of the scheme, he actually provided the promised gold to build trust, but later failed to keep his commitments. There were also victims who entrusted pooled savings to him but did not get their money back.

The police have so far identified 146 victims, with the damages estimated to reach approximately 15 billion won. The authorities are currently investigating whether Mr. A has any concealed assets and plan to continue their probe into additional victims and related offenses.

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