Prosecution Freezes KRW 169.4 Million in Criminal Proceeds of Garosero Research Institute CEO Kim Sei

"Criminal Proceeds Found to Be 30 Times Larger Than Initial Police Estimate"

The prosecution has moved to freeze the assets of Kim Sei, CEO of the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute, who has been detained and indicted on charges of defamation by spreading false information about a famous entertainer, in order to seize his criminal proceeds.

Kim Se, CEO of Garosero Research Institute, was arrested and prosecuted for defamation by spreading false information related to a famous celebrity. Yonhap News

On September 15, the Criminal Proceeds Recovery Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (headed by Chief Prosecutor So Jeongsoo) announced that it has completed a provisional registration to preserve seizure of land owned by Kim. This provisional seizure is a procedure to freeze assets so that criminal proceeds cannot be hidden or disposed of. The amount of criminal proceeds subject to this latest seizure is KRW 16,940,000.

Kim's criminal proceeds were initially identified as KRW 5,440,000 during the initial police investigation. Subsequently, the prosecution tracked the sponsorship accounts of the company operated by Kim and conducted interviews with related parties, confirming an additional KRW 54,400,000 in sponsorship money and KRW 115,000,000 in advertising revenue, for a minimum total of KRW 169,400,000 in criminal proceeds.

Previously, the prosecution requested a seizure preservation order for the KRW 5,440,000 identified by police, but the court dismissed the request on June 25, stating that "the amount is too small compared to the value of the real estate, and therefore there is no need to preserve it."

The prosecution plans to seek further seizure preservation as additional criminal proceeds are identified. An official from the prosecution stated, "We will do our utmost to thoroughly seize all criminal proceeds until the very end, so as to eliminate the fundamental incentives for crime."

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