A woman arrested after fleeing with lodge money

A 52-year-old woman, surnamed Kim, who was operating a Chinese restaurant for more than 18 years in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province called for a family meeting on Jan. 10 this year. The issue was moonlight flit. Her son said, "Let`s flee and think other things later," while her husband and daughter nodded their heads in agreement. For more than 10 days, the family closely prepared escape plans. The son, who had worked at a mobile phone sales agency, got three mobile phones under borrowed names. After a preliminary trip, they booked a pension in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province to stay. On Jan. 21, they also moved their home address to Seoul`s Seongdong district so that they can be probed by police at a place where no one recognize them if caught. In the afternoon that day, Kim’s family stopped mobile phone services and disappeared.

The family fled due to the private fund Kim had opened for merchants at a marketplace. Kim, who operated the fund from December 2010, had to pay 450 million won (400,712 U.S. dollars) to fund members on Jan. 20. But Kim ran short of money since she had used the money on interior works of her store or paid interest for private loans she had borrowed. At last, Kim fled with her family without paying 1.3 billion won (116 million dollars) she owed to 55 members of the fund.

The woman stayed hiding at the pension in Yeongwol for three months and moved to a villa she leased in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province at the end of April. Her son left the pension in early March and went to a diet facility in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province where he paid 2.2 million won (1,595 dollars) a month. Her daughter stayed at a friend`s house for a month and later moved into an officetel in Seoul`s Songpa district. Without consistent jobs, Kim`s children enjoyed luxurious life with someone else`s money.

Seongdong Police said Tuesday after a four-month tracking, they arrested Kim on charges or tricking based on additional economic punishment law on special crimes. A police source said, "Kim`s family members who also fled cannot be punished since she is only responsible for this case."