Cases of Fraud and Embezzelment Increasing

Perpetrators of fraud and embezzlement who flee from south Korea to avoid prosecution are increasing.
According to the National Police Agency (NPA), the offenders as of the end of March who escaped abroad and have lived there since 1990 amounted to 403.
And 86 percent of them were fraud or embezzlement cases. The total sum of damages by these economic offenders is estimated to be 890 billion won(about 700 million dollars).
Since the Korean Economy received the IMF bail out at the end of 1997, fraud and embezzlement cases totaled 223 and accounted for a 58.3 percent of the total economic offenders since 1990.
An official at the NPA said that officials of financial agencies are very concerned with job security since IMF, as so many employees under their control escaped overseas with embezzled money.
Jangsoo Seo:jsbee@Joongang.co.kr