According to an SBS report on PANews July 15th, Choi, the team leader of financial management at the National Health Insurance Corporation of Korea, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for embezzling 4.6 billion won, with the Supreme Court upholding the original verdict. Between April and September 2022, Choi misappropriated 4.6 billion won through 18 internal system manipulations, then fled to the Philippines and was arrested in January 2024 at a luxury resort in Manila. Investigations revealed that apart from 720 million won recovered through civil litigation, Choi invested most of the remaining 3.9 billion won in cryptocurrency futures and suffered total losses.
The court acknowledged the severe nature of the crime but did not support the prosecution's money laundering allegations regarding cryptocurrency fund transfers, nor did it accept the request to recover 3.9 billion won. Additionally, a colleague named Zhao, who was suspected of assisting Choi's escape and transferring 16.7 million won, was sentenced to 4 months in prison with a one-year suspended sentence in the second trial and is currently undergoing appeal proceedings.
