'300 Billion Won Embezzlement Financial Crime': Former Lime Asset Management Vice President Lee Jongpil Sentenced to Lengthy Prison Term

Embezzled 30 Billion Won by Deceiving Lime Asset Management

Acquitted of Perjury Instigation and Some Fraud Charges

Four individuals, including Lee Jongpil, former Vice President of Lime Asset Management, who committed financial crimes worth hundreds of billions of won by embezzling 30 billion won in fund assets from Lime Asset Management, have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms in the first trial.

Seoul Southern District Court. Photo by Jiye Lee

The Criminal Division 15 of the Seoul Southern District Court (Presiding Judge Noh Yukyoung) on the 28th sentenced former Vice President Lee, who was arrested and indicted on charges of fraud and breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, to 10 years in prison. Chae, 47, and Park, 51, both formerly executives at the real estate development firm Metropolitan and also arrested and indicted, were sentenced to 7 years in prison with the additional imposition of a forfeiture of 3.2 billion won and 6 years in prison with a forfeiture of 3.7 billion won, respectively. Kim, 49, a former executive at Lime Asset Management who was indicted without detention, received 3 years in prison, suspended for 5 years.

Former Vice President Lee and others stood trial for allegedly submitting false investment review materials and embezzling 30 billion won in 2018, when they used Lime Fund assets to acquire the Isla Casino in Cebu, Philippines, while concealing the fact that Lee and Kim Younghong, former Chairman of Metropolitan, personally acquired it.

The court stated, “It appears the casino was acquired based on Kim Younghong’s personal interest, with no evidence of operation at the Metropolitan corporate level,” and added, “It is recognized that, in dividing roles, they drafted investment review reports that distorted the casino’s sales and operating profits, and deceived the committee by failing to duly disclose the operation of an illegal gambling establishment.”

Chae and Park were also found guilty on some of the charges of embezzling corporate funds while running the Paju Provence corporation. However, the charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, which alleged that they defrauded Lime Asset Management of fund assets with false documents during the acquisition of the Provence corporation, were judged not guilty. The court stated, “Based on the presented evidence, it is insufficient to find that the defendants’ deception or collusion induced the committee’s misconception and consequently the payout of the fund.”

Former Vice President Lee was also acquitted of instigating perjury by Chae in a separate case. The court reasoned that the main evidence—the letter and conversation records of former Vice President Lee—did not have enough objective relevance to the charges in the search and seizure warrant, and thus could not be admitted as evidence.

The court emphasized, “The crime of deceiving an asset management company and misappropriating 30 billion won in investment funds is extremely grave,” and added, “Not only Lime Asset Management but also Metropolitan ended up in bankruptcy, and there are no signs of efforts to restore damages.” Regarding Lee, the court explained the sentencing by stating, “As the chief operator of Lime Asset Management, he should have fulfilled his responsibilities fairly, but instead orchestrated a crime involving 30 billion won. His continued excuses rather than reflection were considered unfavorable factors.”

Meanwhile, Chae and Park, who were handed actual prison sentences, had their bail revoked and were taken into custody again in court on the same day.

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