Seoul, South Korea – A pastor in Seoul has been sentenced to one year and six months in prison for misappropriating church funds amounting to approximately 360 million won (US$270,000), a Seoul court ruled on Thursday.

The Seoul Northern District Court found the pastor, identified only as "A," guilty of embezzlement and breach of trust. The court determined that the pastor had misappropriated church funds for personal use between 2010 and 2020.

Specifically, the pastor had invested 332 million won of church funds in stocks and derivatives between 2015 and 2018, resulting in a loss of 287 million won. He had also diverted donations from a church member who was a company CEO into a separate account and had transferred a church-owned apartment into his own name.

The pastor's defense argued that his actions were in accordance with the church's bylaws. However, the court rejected this claim, stating that there was no evidence that all church members were aware of the bylaws and that the pastor appeared to have created the bylaws arbitrarily.

The court considered the significant amount of money involved in the case but also took into account the fact that all but the apartment had been recovered.