South Korean thief finally comes back from the dead

SEOUL—A South Korean jailed six times in the past 16 years for theft has blamed his life of crime since 1995 on the fact that he was legally declared dead that year, a court official said Wednesday.

The 44-year-old identified only as Lee received his latest sentence of three years’ imprisonment from the Seoul central district court on Tuesday, for trying to steal a wallet from a drunken man.

Police who checked Lee’s fingerprints after arresting him for that crime had discovered he did not legally exist.

Lee was recorded as dead on the national family registry in 1995, three years after his family had reported his apparent demise.

In fact, he was in jail at the time and was released 10 days after the ruling. He told the court this week he has been struggling ever since as a result.

“Because I was recorded as dead on the register, I couldn’t get an identification card so I couldn’t apply for a job,” he told the judge, according to the court official, who declined to be identified.

Lee said he could not find the money to change his status during his periods in jail since 1995 and had also faced bureaucratic hurdles while he was free.

During the trial the judge gave Lee time to change his status with the authorities, so he can finally get a job after serving his sentence.