Korea's Supreme Court sentences Optimus Asset Management CEO Kim Jae-hyun to 40 years

Optimus Asset Management's office in Gangnam District, eastern Seoul, in 2020. [NEWS1]

The Supreme Court of Korea upheld a ruling by the lower courts to sentence Kim Jae-hyun, the CEO of Optimus Asset Management riddled in one of the largest fund fraud schemes in Korea’s history, to 40 years in prison.

Kim had initially been given a 25-year sentence by a lower court in July last year. In February this year, that sentence was hiked up to 40 years by a Seoul appellate court.

Kim is accused of raising more than 1.3 trillion won ($1.08 billion) from private and institutional investors between April 2018 and June 2020, with the promise of investing the money in low-risk assets. But the promise was not kept, and the funds were invested in risky assets or refunds.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]