A South Korean lawyer was convicted of embezzling police settlement funds to speculate in cryptocurrency.

A lawyer in his 40s who had a cooperation agreement with the Chungcheongbuk-do Police Agency and had long represented police officers in damage compensation lawsuits was convicted of embezzling settlement funds and using them for cryptocurrency investments. On January 24, the Cheongju District Court's criminal judge ruled that the lawyer, in representing three police officers in a civil lawsuit against a suspect accused of obstructing official duties, misappropriated 6 million won in settlement funds paid by the opposing party after the case was settled through court mediation in April 2021. He deposited the money into his personal account for cryptocurrency investments, constituting embezzlement, and was fined 10 million won. The court noted that the defendant's act of embezzling client funds was egregious, but given his confession, remorse, and lack of prior criminal record, the sentencing was appropriate.