Open Decision Ledger · Economic crime
Meaning of the amount of gains from extortion under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes and the point in time at which it is calculated
Translated from the Korean original. Read the Korean
Supreme Court, Oct. 16, 1990, 90Do1815 (judgment)
Case name: 특정경제범죄가중처벌등에관한법률위반,폭력행위등처벌에관한법률위반,공갈
Official text on the National Law Information Center
Question
Is the amount of gains obtained through extortion under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes calculated as of a particular point in time, and does a later change of circumstances or the actual realization of the gains have any effect?
Holding
The amount of gains is calculated, at the time of consummation of the crime, on the basis of the value of the chattels or pecuniary benefit that are the object of unlawful acquisition agreed to be obtained by extortion, and a change of circumstances thereafter is not taken into account even if it could have been foreseen at the time of the act of extortion. Nor does it matter whether the gains will ultimately be realized, or whether conditions or burdens were attached.
Summary of the holding, verbatim
범죄의 기수시기를 기준으로 하여 산정할 것이며 그 후의 사정변경을 고려할 것이 아니고
Unofficial English translation
should be calculated based on the time of consummation of the crime, and changes of circumstances thereafter should not be taken into account, and
Disposition
Dismissed Stated in the decision
상고를 기각한다.
Unofficial English translation
The appeal is dismissed.
Form of the test
Elements stated Stated in the decision
불법영득의 대상이 된 재물이나 재산상 이익의 가액의 합계인 것이지
Unofficial English translation
is the sum of the value of the chattels or pecuniary benefits that became the object of unlawful profit-taking, and not
Factors
- 취득하기로 약정된 즉 불법영득의 대상이 된 재물이나 재산상의 이익의 가액
- 범죄의 기수시기를 기준으로 하여 산정할 것이며
- 그와 같은 사정변경의 가능성이 공갈 행위시 예견 가능한 것이라고 하여도 마찬가지이다
- 궁극적으로 그와 같은 이득을 실현할 것인지, 거기에 어떠한 조건이나 부담이 붙었는지 여부는 영향이 없다
Unofficial English translation
• the value of the chattels or pecuniary benefits that were agreed to be acquired, that is, that became the object of unlawful profit-taking
• should be calculated based on the time of consummation of the crime, and
• the result is the same even if the possibility of such a change of circumstances was foreseeable at the time of the blackmailing act
• whether such gains will ultimately be realized, and whether any condition or burden was attached thereto, has no effect
Relation to precedent
Cannot be determined Not in the decision
Decisions referred to
None listed
Burden of proof
Not addressed Not in the decision
Open question and revisit condition
If the value of the agreed pecuniary benefit is difficult to assess objectively at the time of consummation, by what method is the amount of gains calculated?
This reading is to be re-examined if Supreme Court precedents on the concept or calculation method of the amount of gains under Article 3 of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes change.
Cross-family AI independent reading & axis check
8 of 8 axes matched GPT-6 Astra (OpenAI, codex CLI) · 2026-10-16
In comparison with an independent reading by another AI family (GPT-6 Astra), which read only the original text without seeing the first reading, all 8 axes matched.
Raw responses and comparison record: Protocol · Blind readings (JSONL) · Axis comparison (JSONL) · SHA-256 (JSON)
Lower-court contrast & scope of application
Lower-court reading vs. Supreme Court holding
Lower-court context: The court below upheld the fact-finding of the court of first instance, which recognized the price per pyeong (value of the right) of the land scheduled for reclamation as of September 29, 1987 as 400,000 won, recognized the area the defendant agreed to obtain by the offense as 3,300 pyeong, and calculated the amount of gains on that basis, and held that the amount of gains is calculated on the basis of the time of consummation of the crime and that a change of circumstances thereafter is not taken into account.
Supreme Court standard: The Supreme Court regarded the fact-finding of the court below and its criteria for calculating the amount of gains as justifiable. Since the agreement was made on the premise of a reclamation license for 37,000 pyeong, the fact that the actual area of the reclamation license was reduced does not affect the result, and even if a claim existed prior to the agreement, the fact that unlawful means were used does not affect the establishment of the crime of extortion; the Court therefore dismissed the final appeal.
Distinguishing conditions
- Where no agreement to obtain chattels or gains was formed and the extortion did not reach consummation
- Where the scope of the pecuniary benefit that became the object of unlawful acquisition under the terms of the agreement is not specified
- Where the gains were received by lawful means on the basis of a legitimate claim
Record verification notes
Before asserting the same conclusion, it needs to be checked whether the Records contain materials supporting the specific content of the agreement to obtain by extortion and the value at the time of consummation.
From the official text
Points at issue
가. 공갈범행으로 인하여 취득한 이득액 산정의 기준시기 나. 특정경제범죄가중처벌등에관한법률 제3조 제1항 소정의 ‘이득액'의 의미
Unofficial English translation
a. The point in time used as the basis for calculating the amount of gains acquired by the offense of blackmail b. The meaning of 'amount of gains' as used in Article 3 (1) of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes
Summary of the holding
가. 공갈폭행으로 인하여 취득한 이득액은 공갈범행으로 인하여 취득하기로 약정된 즉 불법영득의 대상이 된 재물이나 재산상의 이익의 가액이 기준이 되어야 하고, 범죄의 기수시기를 기준으로 하여 산정할 것이며 그 후의 사정변경을 고려할 것이 아니고 그와 같은 사정변경의 가능성이 공갈 행위시 예견 가능한 것이라고 하여도 마찬가지이다. 나. 특정경제범죄가중처벌등에관한법률 제3조 제1항 소정의 ‘이득액'이란 거기에 열거된 범죄행위로 인하여 취득하거나 제3자로 하여금 취득하게 한 불법영득의 대상이 된 재물이나 재산상 이익의 가액의 합계인 것이지 궁극적으로 그와 같은 이득을 실현할 것인지, 거기에 어떠한 조건이나 부담이 붙었는지 여부는 영향이 없다.
Order
상고를 기각한다. 상고 후의 구금일수 중 100일을 본형에 산입한다.
Unofficial English translation
The appeal is dismissed. 100 days of detention after the final appeal is imposed as part of the principal punishment.
Provisions referred to
가.나. 형법 제350조 나. 특정경제범죄가중처벌등에관한법률 제3조 제1항
Read 2026-10-16 · Cross-read 2026-10-16. All quotes matched against the official text. The Chinese-character placeholders the court used for anonymised parties are given in their Korean readings, and parenthetical Chinese-character glosses are omitted.
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