Kim Seong-tae, former chairman of Ssangbang-wool Group, who was arrested and indicted on charges of remittance to North Korea, is entering the country through Incheon International Airport on the morning of the 11th, after nine months of escaping abroad. yunhap news
On the 11th, Mr. Kim, the former head of Ssangbangwool Group’s financial affairs division, who is called the ‘safekeeper’ of former Ssangbangwool Group chairman Kim Seong-tae, was repatriated.
Detective Division 6 of the Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office (chief prosecutor Kim Young-nam) secured Mr. Kim’s recruit on a flight that departed from Thailand and arrived at Incheon International Airport at around 8:00 am on the same day, took him to the airport, and immediately began an investigation.
Mr. Kim, who is also the brother-in-law of former Chairman Kim, was arrested in Thailand in early December of last year while fleeing abroad when the investigation into the double-bang-wool started in earnest last year. He refused to be extradited and filed a lawsuit, but after being sentenced to a fine of 4000 baht (150,000 won) for illegal stay on the 7th, he gave up his appeal and announced his intention to return.
Mr. Kim, who was called the ‘safe deposit keeper’ of former Chairman Kim, is a person known to be involved in the overall flow of the group’s funds.
Through the investigation of Mr. Kim, the prosecution is expected to focus their investigative power on specifying charges of embezzlement and breach of trust, violation of the Capital Market Act, and violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act in remittances to North Korea.
Prosecutors suspect that Mr. Kim was deeply involved in the transfer process of former Chairman Kim to North Korea. The amount of Kim’s remittance to North Korea, which is known so far, is about 8.5 million dollars. Prosecutors suspect the paper company founded by former chairman Kim as the source of the funds sent to the North, and Kim is known to have been involved in the process. It is said that Kim carried out the issuance of convertible bonds of Ssangbangwool Group affiliates designed by former Chairman Kim.
Previously, the prosecution requested an arrest warrant the previous day for Mr. Park, an executive secretary who helped former Chairman Kim escape abroad.
When former Chairman Kim left for Singapore in May of last year, Mr. Park, who is known to have lived a life of escape by going abroad with him, drove former Chairman Kim’s car for about 20 years. He is also listed as an inside director of Good Man Invest, a paper company founded by former Chairman Kim.
The prosecution plans to request an arrest warrant for Mr. Kim on the 12th.
