Daejeon District Court (Supreme Court of Korea)
Daejeon District Court (Supreme Court of Korea)

The Daejeon District Court has found itself embroiled in controversy after a defendant challenged a recent ruling, taking issue with the judge's oral sentence differing from the written verdict.

According to legal circles on Wednesday, a Daejeon District Court judge on Jan. 16 said, the court "sentences the defendant to eight months in prison," while reading the verdict in a jeonse fraud case.

The jeonse system involves tenants paying a large lump-sum deposit instead of monthly rent, with the full amount returned at the end of the lease.

However, the defendant said the written court decision received several days later stated that the defendant had been sentenced to eight years in prison.

The main defendant and two accomplices in a jeonse fraud scheme — involving 127 victims and 14.4 billion won ($9.9 million) — were found guilty of deceiving tenants to believe that their deposits for multiunit housing would be properly returned.

"The defendant led the crime overall and played a crucial role," the written verdict said. "The court finds it necessary to impose a severe punishment and sentences the defendant to eight years in prison."

The accomplices were sentenced to six years and two years and six months in prison, respectively.

The defendant filed a request for a clerical correction of the judgment, arguing that the sentence imposed had been eight months, not eight years. However, the court denied the request, prompting the defendant to file a special appeal with the Supreme Court.

A special appeal is an extraordinary legal remedy that can be filed only when there is a clear violation of law.


seungku99@heraldcorp.com