Shinhwa's Lee Min-woo Fraud Case: Writer Sentenced to 9 Years Returns for Appeal

Lee Min-woo (이민우), a member of the legendary K-pop group Shinhwa, is at the center of a legal battle involving a television writer accused of defrauding him of approximately 2.6 billion KRW (around $2.2 million). The writer, identified as A, was initially sentenced to nine years in prison for deceiving Lee into believing he could help clear him of sexual assault charges. The Supreme Court of South Korea has ordered a retrial, stating that some of the claimed damages were calculated redundantly and need to be reassessed.

In June 2019, Lee Min-woo was investigated for allegedly sexually assaulting two women. A, who had known Lee for 20 years, falsely claimed to have connections within the prosecution that could ensure a 'no-bill' decision on the charges. In exchange for this supposed assistance, A extorted 1.6 billion KRW from Lee. However, it was later revealed that A had no such connections and did not pass the money to any prosecutor.

By December of the same year, the prosecution officially cleared Lee of the charges, which led A to approach him again, claiming that prosecutors were reconsidering their decision and demanding more money. Over 26 months, A managed to extract a total of 2.6 billion KRW from Lee.

While both the first and second trials largely upheld the charges against A, the Supreme Court found that some of the damages claimed were merely transfers of funds already taken from Lee, not new losses. The court emphasized that the lower courts had misunderstood the legal principles regarding non-punishable subsequent actions.

The Supreme Court stated that the funds transferred from Lee's accounts to A or third parties should not be counted as separate criminal damages. They drew a parallel to theft cases, where damage caused by the thief to the stolen property is not treated as a separate crime. The court concluded that the lower courts should have further examined whether the transfers constituted an increase in harm to the victim or a new violation of rights.