In South Korea, Man Who Scammed Terminal Patient of 30 Million Won with 'Cancer Drug' Claim Sentenced to Prison

In an incident that took place in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and caused a great public outcry, a fraudster who obtained financial gain by convincing a patient in the end stage of kidney cancer that he would procure 'a special drug of US origin that would provide a complete cure free of charge' was sentenced to prison. The defendant, named Park, approximately 60 years old, was accused of usurping assets worth 30 million South Korean Won (approximately 20 thousand dollars) by exploiting the hopes of the patient with the initial A.

Appearing before the court in the trial held at the Seoul Southern District Court, the defendant was sentenced to 1 year in prison as a result of the hearing held on 24 May, pursuant to relevant legal articles, and was brought before justice. The court board found it necessary to impose this sentence by taking into account the legal records that the defendant had engaged in fraud of a similar nature before the date of the crime and had been convicted in the past.

When the legal dimension and details of the incident are examined; it was determined that the defendant was in close proximity to the victim, whose cancer disease had spread to the lungs and who was in a medically hopeless condition, around October 2023. The suspect claimed that he had previously had liver cancer and bought this special drug for 100 million Won and fully recovered, and psychologically pressured the victim to demand the money in question.

The victim handed over a large amount to the defendant for this opportunity, which he saw as a last hope to hold on to life, but the promise that the drugs would arrive within a week was never fulfilled. A shocking fact revealed during the investigation was that there was not even a 'nephew with cancer' as the defendant claimed, and that all of this was just a scenario made up by the defendant.

While the defendant, who defended himself during the trial, tried to reject the allegations by claiming that he did not know the victim was a cancer patient and that he only took the money for 'seafood farming', this defense was not found credible by the court board. The judge announced his decision by emphasizing that the victim was deceived in his most painful days while struggling to survive, the defendant answered the victim's phone calls and never brushed off the situation, and especially the sorrow of the victim passing away before reaching justice.