[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The CEO of a mask manufacturing company who illegally produced 8 million unauthorized masks and gained unfair profits of 11 billion KRW has been detained by the prosecution.
According to the legal community on the 1st, Chief Judge Choi Chang-hoon of the Seoul Central District Court held a pre-arrest detention hearing for Lee Mo (58), CEO of mask manufacturer Company A, the day before, and issued an arrest warrant for Lee, citing "concerns over evidence destruction." On the other hand, the arrest warrant request for Park Mo, CEO of Company B, who is suspected of conspiring with Lee in the crime, was dismissed.
Earlier, the prosecution filed an arrest warrant request against Lee on the 27th of last month, charging him with violations of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and the Tax Offenses Punishment Act. However, since Lee was not judged to have hoarded masks, he was not charged with violating the Price Stabilization Act.
Lee is suspected of manufacturing and selling 8 million masks without registering as a manufacturer or obtaining product approval. The prosecution has determined that Lee distributed illegal masks online and earned unfair profits amounting to 11 billion KRW. Additionally, there is evidence that Lee conducted undocumented transactions by failing to properly create supporting documents during the illegal mask trading process.
It was also confirmed that Lee asked Company B, another mask manufacturer where his son serves as a director, to produce unauthorized masks. Park reportedly confessed to all charges during the prosecution’s investigation.
On the 30th of last month, the prosecution also filed an arrest warrant request for Shin Mo, CEO of a distribution company accused of mask sales fraud. Shin’s detention hearing was held that morning at the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Won Jeong-sook, who is in charge of warrants. The decision on detention will be made late in the afternoon.
Shin is accused of deceiving victims by claiming to be a general distributor owning several mask manufacturing factories and embezzling over 130 million KRW.
Recently, the prosecution, in cooperation with related ministries, conducted joint inspections at each distribution stage of masks and raw materials (filters). They plan to sequentially process suspects based on the severity of the crimes. The decision on whether to detain representatives of filter companies will also be made this week.
Meanwhile, as of 9 a.m. on the 1st, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office announced that there are a total of 382 COVID-19 related cases under prosecution management. Specifically, 54 cases are under investigation, 253 cases are under police supervision, 69 cases have been prosecuted (40 with detention), and 6 cases were dismissed.
By charge, the cases are categorized as follows: ▲ 181 cases of mask payment fraud (fraud) ▲ 54 cases of hoarding health supplies, etc. (violation of the Price Stabilization Act) ▲ 61 cases of spreading false information (obstruction of business, etc.) ▲ 29 cases of leaking information on confirmed or suspected patients (breach of official secrets, etc.) ▲ 9 cases of false reporting of contact with confirmed patients, false statements during epidemiological investigations, and refusal of quarantine (obstruction of official duties by deception, etc.) ▲ 48 cases of selling uncertified masks and smuggling masks (violations of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and Customs Act).
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