[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Park Mo, former vice chairman of Lead, a KOSDAQ-listed company, who was indicted for embezzling hundreds of billions of won in company funds in collusion with former Lime Asset Management vice chairman Lee Jong-pil, was sentenced to 8 years in prison in the first trial.
The Criminal Division 12 of the Seoul Southern District Court (Presiding Judge Oh Sang-yong) delivered this sentence at 10 a.m. on the day during the first trial sentencing hearing for six defendants, including former vice chairman Park, who were charged with violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (embezzlement). All five former and current executives of Lime who were indicted together were also found guilty.
They were indicted on charges of embezzling approximately 80 billion won in company funds after acquiring Lead, which was listed on KOSDAQ, through KONEX-listed company A in 2016.
Lime began investing about 20 billion won in Lead in three installments from January to June 2017, and invested a total of about 60 billion won by 2018.
In particular, Lead invested 23 billion won outside the company from 44 billion won raised through a paid-in capital increase in 2017, and the funds were found to have been used to redeem funds of Lime Asset Management’s fund. The prosecution judged this act as embezzlement and had requested a 10-year prison sentence, a fine of 15 billion won, and a confiscation of 3.46 billion won for former vice chairman Park.
In the final hearing, former vice chairman Park testified that Lead had been operated according to former vice chairman Lee’s intentions since 2018. Former vice chairman Lee was issued an arrest warrant along with former vice chairman Park in November last year but went into hiding and was caught by the police the day before yesterday.
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