Seoul High Court grants suspended sentence to executive embezzled via gaslighting

A former representative of a home appliance and electrical goods manufacturing company has received a suspended prison sentence after being found to have embezzled approximately 6.6 billion won due to psychological manipulation, known as gaslighting.

The Seoul High Court recently overturned a lower court's three-year prison sentence, instead sentencing the individual to three years in prison with a four-year stay of execution. The court ruled that the defendant had been under intense psychological control by an acquaintance couple for eight years.

The scheme involved a fictitious shaman named ‘Jo Mal-rye,’ a persona created by one of the acquaintances, Ms. Jang, to manipulate the defendant into transferring company funds under the guise of needing money for ritual altars. Investigations revealed that the couple used various tactics, including threats and sexual exploitation, to extort billions of won from the victim.

In determining the sentence, the appellate court considered that the defendant showed remorse, had no prior criminal record, and had attempted to compensate the company by transferring shares. The company also expressed that it did not desire punishment for the former representative.