A man in his 20s has been sentenced to prison for extorting tens of millions of won by intentionally bumping his already broken cell phone into young adults and demanding repair costs.

Chuncheon District Court Judge Park Dong-wook, presiding over Criminal Division 3, announced on August 23 that he sentenced 21-year-old A, who was indicted and detained on charges including fraud, attempted fraud, violation of the Stalking Punishment Act, and assault, to one year and six months in prison.

The court also ordered A to complete a 40-hour stalking treatment program and to pay a total of 820,000 won in restitution.

A was brought to trial on charges of collecting a total of approximately 7.9 million won from 11 people under the guise of cell phone repair costs—or attempting to extort money from 3 others—between September of last year and January of this year around college areas and bus terminals in Chuncheon and Hongcheon.

Investigations revealed that A targeted young adults such as soldiers and college students in crowded areas, intentionally bumped shoulders with them, dropped a pre-broken cell phone, and demanded compensation for damages.

In February, using the same method, A extorted a total of approximately 41 million won across 35 instances by intimidating passersby with remarks such as, "I won't report this to the police, so pay for the repair," "Don't make a big deal out of this," and "Don't tell your parents. If you tell them, I'll go to prison."

According to the indictment, A was also charged with stalking after his ex-girlfriend demanded that he stop visiting or contacting her. In October of last year, A contacted her 189 times over a week, sent money to her account 53 times over four days along with transfer messages, and approached her near her home.

Despite receiving emergency police measures on October 9 of last year—such as a ban on approaching within 100 meters and a ban on approaching via telecommunications due to stalking offenses—A sent multiple messages to his ex-girlfriend again just about seven hours after the police intervention.

In addition, A extorted approximately 18.8 million won across 13 instances from another romantic partner under the pretext of vehicle repair costs to use for gambling funds and other purposes.

Judge Park pointed out, "Considering the motive, method, and details of the crimes, the nature of the offenses is severe, and the total amount stolen is large, reaching approximately 68 million won." The judge added, "Aside from reimbursing some of the victims, he has not recovered the damages, leaving remaining damages amounting to approximately 55 million won, and he has failed to reach settlements with some of the victims."

The judge further noted, "The defendant not only failed to respond to summonses from investigative agencies but also lied about his whereabouts, showing poor circumstances following the crimes, and has a prior record of being punished with a fine for fraud," thereby sentencing him to prison.

(Photo: Yonhap News)