'Yeouido Grim Reaper' Prosecution's Financial and Securities Crime Investigation Cooperation Team Investigates Osstem Implant

Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office Assigns 221.5 Billion Won Record Embezzlement Case to Cooperation Team

Lee Mo, who is accused of embezzling 221.5 billion KRW from Osstem Implant, is being transferred to the prosecution from Gangseo Police Station in Seoul on the 14th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The Prosecution's Financial and Securities Crime Investigation Cooperation Unit (Head Park Seong-hoon), known as the 'Yeouido Grim Reaper,' is investigating the embezzlement case involving Osstem Implant.

On the 17th, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office announced that it had assigned the embezzlement case of Osstem Implant's finance team leader Lee (45, detained), who is accused of embezzling 221.5 billion KRW of company funds, to the Financial and Securities Crime Investigation Cooperation Unit. Since the Cooperation Unit had coordinated arrest warrants and search schedules during the police investigation process and examined the case together, it plans to focus its investigation mainly on the embezzlement offenses handed over by the police.

Earlier, the police transferred Lee to the prosecution on the 14th on charges of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. Lee has been detained and under investigation for allegedly transferring 221.5 billion KRW eight times from the corporate account to his own account since March last year.

The Joint Securities Crime Investigation Unit, which investigated securities and financial crimes, officially relaunched on the 1st after about a year and a half since its abolition, with a new name. The photo shows the building directory installed in the lobby of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office annex on that day. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On the 12th, the police applied for pre-indictment seizure and confiscation of Lee's assets, including real estate, stocks, and deposits worth around 33 billion KRW. Pre-indictment seizure prevents the suspect from disposing of illegally acquired assets such as real estate before the court's verdict on the charges. Pre-indictment confiscation is a measure to prevent the suspect from disposing of assets when the suspect has used proceeds obtained from the crime, allowing authorities to collect an equivalent amount. After reviewing the police's application, the Cooperation Unit filed it with the court, which is currently reviewing whether to accept it.

Separately from the prosecution's investigation, the police also conducted a search and seizure at Osstem Implant's headquarters in Magok-dong, Gangseo-gu, to verify whether Lee's statements matched the actual embezzlement process and to investigate suspicions of accomplices claimed by Lee. The case filed by the Committee for the Protection of Ordinary Citizens against Chairman Choi Gyu-ok and CEO Eom Tae-gwan for violating the Capital Markets Act (price manipulation) was also assigned to the Gangseo Police Station.

Additionally, the police have also booked and are investigating Lee's wife, younger sister, and brother-in-law. Among them, Lee's wife and sister-in-law were judged to be accomplices and were charged with embezzlement and concealment of criminal proceeds.