Former Samsung Lions pitcher An Ji-man gets 20 months for fraud
A Daegu court found An defrauded acquaintances of over 300 million won ($224,600) after concealing his debts and using borrowed money for undisclosed purposes.
Then-Samsung Lions pitcher An Ji-man pitches against the Rakuten Eagles during a preseason exhibition game at Akama Ballpark in Okinawa, Japan, on Feb. 23, 2011.JOONGANG ILBO
Former Samsung Lions pitcher An Ji-man was sentenced to prison for borrowing more than 300 million won ($224,600) from acquaintances under the pretext of covering legal fees and construction costs, then failing to repay the money.
The Daegu District Court sentenced An to one year and eight months in prison on fraud charges, it said Wednesday.
An was indicted for borrowing 228 million won from an acquaintance on two occasions between April and June 2016, claiming he needed the money to cover construction costs, and failing to repay it.
He was also accused of borrowing another 94 million won from a different acquaintance between December 2015 and October 2017, claiming he needed the money for legal fees and other expenses, without repaying the loans.
The total amount An borrowed from the two acquaintances reached 322 million won.
Investigators found that An stopped receiving his salary after becoming embroiled in an overseas gambling scandal in October 2015, which led to his exclusion from the Samsung Lions' roster for that year's Korean Series.
He was also found to have substantial outstanding debts owed to financial institutions and other creditors.
During the trial, An denied the fraud charges and argued that he had intended to repay the loans because he believed he would return to professional baseball once the investigations and legal proceedings against him were concluded.
Then-Samsung Lions pitcher An Ji-man pitches during a preseason exhibition game against the SK Wyverns at Munhak Baseball Stadium in Incheon on March 24, 2011.JOONGANG ILBO
The court rejected his argument.
Based on testimony from the victims and financial transaction records, the court determined that An was already carrying approximately 2 billion won in debt when he borrowed the money and had failed to properly disclose his financial situation and ability to repay the loans.
The court also found that An had used the borrowed money for purposes other than those he had disclosed to the lenders.
"The defendant did not use the money borrowed from the victims for its stated purposes," the court said. "Had the victims known that the money would be used for other purposes, they likely would not have lent it to him."
In determining the sentence, however, the court took into account that An had repaid 25.9 million won to one of the victims and transferred ownership of his car as part of his efforts to settle the debt.
An was previously sentenced in April 2018 to six months in prison, suspended for two years, on charges including violations of the National Sports Promotion Act. The sentence was finalized later that month.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
