“I just lent my name out of gratitude for hiring me, a disabled person… . I can’t afford to pay the fine, so I have to go to jail. Can the Supreme Court still make such a ruling? Is there such an unfair law in the world?”
It is shocking to learn that a disabled driver, who actually borrowed his name at the request of the president, was caught in a tax crime and was sentenced to hundreds of millions of won in fines and was being detained in a labor camp. Amugae Lee (66), a second-grade polio, was sentenced to a suspended sentence of imprisonment and a fine on charges such as issuing false tax invoices on the 12th. What is the reason why Mr. Lee, who worked as the boss’s driver with a salary of about 2 million won a month, was forced to become Jo Se-beom?
Difficulty refusing favors, loan ‘shackles’
Mobility difficulties due to polio, 300 days of labor
According to
As a result, a fine of 420 million won was shackled to Lee. The court ruled that if Lee did not pay the fine, he would detain 1.4 million won in the labor camp for the period calculated as one day. Based on this calculation, Mr. Lee would have to work 300 days. According to Article 69 (1) of the Criminal Act, which states that the fine must be paid within 30 days from the date the judgment is finalized, there is only one month left. However, for Mr. Lee, who is disabled, this is a ‘heavy punishment’. He is in a situation where it is difficult to take even a few steps without lifting crutches.
From around 2015, Mr. Lee had a relationship with Mr. Park (73), CEO of Company A, a metal shutter manufacturer in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, and was hired as a driver. However, a problem arose when CEO Park established Company B, a metal display panel manufacturer, in October of the same year. At first, CEO Park tried to entrust Company B to his daughter, but he asked Mr. Lee to borrow his name, saying that his daughter was running a private business.
Mr. Lee said he could not turn down the request in favor of giving him a job. He accepted CEO Park’s request and took the position of CEO of Company B in June 2017. However, CEO Park managed the seal and bankbook of Company B. Company B’s income and expenses were also in charge of Company A’s accounting department.
Mr. Lee, who has been driving only since then, heard the news the following year. The complaint alleging that a false tax invoice was issued in the name of company B has entered the tax office. After that, Mr. Lee was called to the tax office and the police for investigation because he was the general manager of management who owns 50% of company B’s stock.
In August 2018, the police sent the case to the prosecution with the opinion of indictment, saying that Mr. Lee issued and received a false tax invoice even though there was no actual transaction in the plan to receive orders for government-run construction by inflating his performance. Prosecutors believe that Lee issued or received a false tax invoice worth 4 billion won on eight occasions to the customer company C.