"Pastor Who Exploited Shinan Salt Farm Victims' Benefits Accused of Defrauding Acquaintance Out of Hundreds of Millions of Won"

Borrowed 550 Million Won from Acquaintance for Business Purposes

Transferred Real Estate to Acquaintance to Avoid Legal Forced Execution

Police to Investigate Circumstances Involving Both Complainant and Accused

It has emerged that Mr. A, who has previously exploited the benefits of victims of labor exploitation in Shinan salt farms and engaged in illegal medical practices at a nursing hospital in Buk-gu, Jeonnam Gwangju, has been accused of defrauding an acquaintance out of several hundred million won. Mr. A is known for his activities as a pastor and chairman of a nursing hospital in the Jeonnam Gwangju area. He is suspected of borrowing more than 500 million won and not repaying it, subsequently transferring property to another name in order to avoid legal forced execution.

A view of a certain nursing hospital in Samgak-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju, chaired by Mr A. Photo by Chanki Min

According to the Gwangsan Police Station on the 29th, the victim, Mr. B, recently filed a complaint against Mr. A (63, female), the senior pastor of a church in Usan-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, with the police on charges of fraud and evasion of forced execution.

The complaint contends that “Mr. A borrowed 550 million won for business and other purposes but did not repay it, and instead disposed of her real estate to an acquaintance to avoid legal forced execution.”

In March 2022, Mr. A borrowed 500 million won from the complainant, Ms. Park, claiming that it was needed for business expenses. Accordingly, Mr. B obtained a loan using a commercial building owned by herself in Pungam-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju, as collateral and provided 500 million won to Mr. A. However, Mr. A repaid only 17 million won and is accused of failing to repay the remaining 483 million won.

Subsequently, in August 2024, Mr. A borrowed an additional 50 million won, stating that facility expenses were required for an elderly care hospital in Mokpo where she was to be appointed chairman, but failed to repay 30 million won of that amount.

As repeated requests for repayment continued, Mr. A personally wrote a memorandum in February, acknowledging that “at the time of borrowing, I lacked both the intention and ability for proper repayment, and fully recognize this constitutes fraud under criminal law and accept full civil and criminal liability.”

Moreover, when Mr. B initiated civil legal proceedings such as applying for a court payment order to recover the loan, the accused, Pastor Park, transferred the ownership registration of land in Samgak-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju, to her acquaintance, Mr. Cho, on December 1 last year, under the pretense of a sale.

Mr. B’s side asserts, “This is a typical act of evasion of forced execution, where a debtor, in a state of excess liabilities, falsely transfers or conceals assets to a third party in order to avoid forced execution.”

A police official stated, “We plan to summon both the complainant and the accused to clarify the exact details of the incident,” and added, “We cannot disclose the specifics of the case.”

It was not possible to reach Mr. A for comment, despite several attempts to contact her.

Meanwhile, Mr. A is under police investigation for various allegations, including embezzlement of living allowances from victims of labor exploitation and residents over several years, illegal payback schemes to patients in a cancer ward of a nursing hospital, and registering family members and relatives as ghost employees.

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