The defendant's appeal is dismissed.

1. Summary of grounds for appeal;

A. In light of the fact that: (a) the Defendant had worked in a carhouse farm and factory of “H” company from March 2008 to September 2015; and (b) the Defendant’s wife and two children had resided together with the Defendant in the Philippines from December 2015 to September 2018, it cannot be deemed that the Defendant had stayed abroad with the intent to escape criminal punishment.

Therefore, since the statute of limitations for the crime of this case is not suspended during the period when the defendant was abroad, the prosecution of this case is unlawful as it was instituted after the expiration of the seven-year statute of limitations.

B. The lower court’s sentence of unreasonable sentencing (7 million won of fine) is too unreasonable.

2. Determination on the argument that the statute of limitations expired

A. Article 253(3) of the Criminal Procedure Act provides, “The statute of limitations shall be suspended during the period when the offender stays abroad for the purpose of escaping criminal punishment.”

The legislative purpose of the above provision is to properly realize the penal authority by preventing the statute of limitations from proceeding during the period of stay in a foreign country where the offender stays in a foreign country where the jurisdiction of the Republic of Korea substantially falls short of the jurisdiction of the Republic of Korea.

(See Supreme Court Decision 2008Do4101 Decided December 11, 2008). Therefore, the phrase “where a person stays abroad with the intent to escape criminal punishment” as prescribed by the above provision is not limited to cases where the criminal escaped abroad in order to escape criminal punishment, and it also includes cases where the criminal continues his/her stay abroad with the intent to escape criminal punishment.

On the other hand, "the purpose of escaping criminal punishment" is not limited to the only purpose of staying in a foreign country, but also to stay in several foreign countries.