The judgment of the court below is reversed.

The sentence of sentence shall be suspended for the defendant.

According to the summary of the grounds for appeal (the factual error or misapprehension of the legal principle), although the defendant could fully recognize the fact that he received interest exceeding the maximum interest rate prescribed in the Interest Limitation Act from D, the defendant was acquitted of the facts and thereby acquitted the defendant by misapprehending the legal principles under the Interest Limitation Act.

Judgment

The maximum interest rate under contract for lending and borrowing of money in the summary of the facts charged shall not exceed 25% per annum.

Nevertheless, around May 14, 2015, the Defendant loaned KRW 10 million to D from “C” located in Gangnam-gu Seoul, and agreed to repay the principal to D in lump sum as interest, KRW 500,000,000 per month, and from that date until February 22, 2017, the Defendant loaned KRW 35,00,000 to D in total four times in the same way, and received KRW 19.71% per annum and exceeded the maximum interest rate of KRW 25% per annum.

In light of the legislative purpose of the Interest Limitation Act and the contents of relevant provisions, penal provisions shall be strictly interpreted and applied in accordance with the language and text, and shall not be excessively expanded or analogically interpreted to the disadvantage of the defendant, the lower court rendered a judgment on the ground that if, under its pretext, even if the interest was paid in excess of the maximum interest rate stipulated in Article 2(1) of the Interest Limitation Act, the amount equivalent to the interest paid in excess of the highest interest rate is appropriated for the principal and thus the interest is not actually paid in excess of the highest interest rate, the Defendant is not guilty.

The purpose of the Act on the Restriction of Interest on the Interest of the Party is to "the stabilization of the national economic life and the realization of economic justice by prescribing the appropriate maximum limit of interest," and the maximum interest rate under the contract for monetary lending and lending shall not exceed 30 percent per annum.