Kim Jaehyun, CEO of Optimus, Sentenced to Additional 5 Years in Prison for Embezzlement Charges

Optimus Asset Management office, Gangnam-gu, Seoul [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Kim Jae-hyun, CEO of Optimus Asset Management (Optimus), who is serving a 25-year prison sentence for a fund fraud case involving over 1 trillion won, has been sentenced to an additional 5 years in prison. This time, the charge is embezzlement.

On the 2nd, the Criminal Division 34 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Heo Seon-ah) sentenced Kim, who was indicted on charges including embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, to 5 years in prison.

The court stated the sentencing rationale, saying, "Considering the scale of the embezzled amount disguised as payment and the damage suffered by the shareholders of Haeduk Powerway, the culpability is severe," but added, "Funds were injected for the normalization of Haeduk Powerway, and most of the embezzled amount appears to have been used for the redemption of Optimus funds."

Kim was indicted on charges of conspiring with former Haeduk Powerway CEO Park to withdraw 5 billion won of paid-in capital from Hwaseong Industry, the largest shareholder of Haeduk Powerway, in May last year and arbitrarily using it for the redemption of Optimus funds.

Additionally, Kim is also accused of using approximately 13 billion won of Haeduk Powerway's loan funds for the redemption of Optimus funds in collusion with former CEO Park.

However, the court rejected the prosecution's request for a confiscation order on about 20 billion won of embezzled funds by Kim.

Previously, Kim was indicted for deceiving investors by claiming to invest in public institution accounts receivable from April 2018 to June last year, raising over 1 trillion won, then engaging in acquiring non-performing loans and circular fund management. In the first trial, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison, fined 500 million won, and ordered to pay a confiscation amount of 75.175 billion won.