Judge's misreading lets jeonse fraudster off with 8 months — appeals court corrects to 8 years

A defendant in a jeonse fraud case who benefited from a judge's misreading of his sentence has been handed a far heavier punishment on appeal.

The second criminal division of the Daejeon District Court overturned the original eight-month prison term imposed on the defendant, identified only as A, and sentenced him to eight years in prison, legal sources said Friday.

A was indicted along with two accomplices on charges of defrauding 127 victims of approximately 14.4 billion won (about $9.45 million) in jeonse deposits on multi-unit housing in the Daejeon area between 2021 and 2023. Investigators found the properties had been built through a "zero-capital gap investment" scheme, leaving the landlord unable to return the deposits.

The controversy stemmed from the first-instance sentencing hearing in February, when the presiding judge verbally announced in court that A would serve eight months. The written ruling A's side later received, however, stated the sentence as eight years — the same hearing in which his two accomplices had been sentenced to six years and two years and six months, respectively. The judge was reported to have misspoken.

A's legal team immediately demanded a correction, arguing that the sentence pronounced orally in court took precedence, and the first-instance sentence was ultimately confirmed at eight months. Prosecutors appealed, arguing the eight-month term was far too lenient, and the appeals court agreed.

The appeals court said in its sentencing rationale that A's "criminal culpability is extremely grave, having defrauded a large number of economically vulnerable victims of a total of approximately 14.4 billion won." It added that he "planned and led the scheme yet continues to evade responsibility — even at this stage of proceedings — by claiming his role was merely supplementary."

Appeals by the two accomplices were both dismissed.