Saemaul credit union branch manager stuffed vault with toy money to hide embezzlement

A branch manager at a saemaul credit union in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, has been found to have embezzled tens of millions of won by stuffing the vault with fake banknotes.

According to the Gyeongju Police Station, an unauthorized withdrawal of 70 million won ($45,300) from a saemaul credit union branch in Gyeongju was confirmed in January.

A police investigation determined that the branch manager, identified only as A, was responsible for the theft.

A withdrew cash from the vault and filled it with fake 50,000-won notes purchased online to avoid detection.

The counterfeit bills were easy to identify with the naked eye, but A avoided suspicion for some time by exploiting lax oversight at the small branch, which had only two staff members — the branch manager and a section chief.

A was eventually caught after a colleague noticed something suspicious and reported it. However, allegations have emerged that the saemaul credit union delayed reporting the case to police and tried to downplay or conceal the incident.

A turned himself in to police roughly two weeks after the incident and was recently handed a summary indictment by a court.

The saemaul credit union said it dismissed A immediately upon learning of the incident, adding that the full amount had been repaid and the matter was closed internally.