▲ Chuncheon District Court Wonju Branch
A man in his 30s who cut off his own arm to fraudulently collect approximately 120 million won in industrial accident compensation and other benefits has received a suspended prison sentence.
The fact that he had already served a prison sentence for insurance fraud appeared to have influenced the ruling.
Judge Kang Shin-young of the Criminal Division 1 at the Chuncheon District Court Wonju Branch announced that he sentenced 31-year-old A, who was indicted without detention on charges of fraud and violation of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, to one year in prison suspended for two years.
According to the indictment and other records, A used a bone cutter—an electric machinery cutting device—to amputate his left arm while working at a food ingredient mart in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, at around 7:00 PM on December 21, 2020.
About a month later, on January 19, 2021, A falsely claimed that the incident was an industrial accident and filed claims for medical care benefits and other payments with the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, fraudulently receiving a total of about 122.37 million won in insurance funds through November 19, 2024.
Investigations revealed that A deceived authorities by claiming it was "an industrial accident caused by an accidental mishap."
A was separately indicted on charges of fraudulently collecting approximately 180 million won in insurance payouts from private insurance companies through this incident, and was sentenced to one year and two months in prison on November 13, 2024, a verdict that has since been finalized.
At the time, A had attempted to collect 570 million won from multiple insurance companies, but his attempts to siphon off some of the insurance payouts fell through after the respective companies grew suspicious of insurance fraud.
Judge Kang stated, "We considered factors such as the fact that the defendant admits to the crime and is reflecting on his actions, and that he has already served a prison sentence for crimes including defrauding private insurance companies through the same accident."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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