[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Kim Sung-tae, former chairman of Ssangbangwool Group, who fled overseas after being investigated by prosecutors for embezzlement and breach of trust within the Ssangbangwool Group, was caught in Thailand after 8 months on the run and is reportedly facing an illegal stay lawsuit locally.
According to the legal community on the 11th, Kim will face a trial in Thailand on the 12th to determine whether his stay is illegal.
Kim fled to Singapore at the end of May last year, just before a prosecutor's search and seizure related to embezzlement charges under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, then moved to Thailand where he lived in hiding for nearly 8 months.
He was caught by the local immigration arrest team while visiting a golf course in Pathum Thani, Thailand, with Yang Seon-gil, the current chairman of Ssangbangwool Group.
Both are currently considered illegal residents as they are subject to Interpol red notices and passport invalidation measures. However, Kim is reportedly denying that he is staying illegally.
If Kim denies illegal stay during the hearing on the 12th, a formal trial date will be set later, which will delay his repatriation to Korea. If he admits to illegal stay, it is expected to take about a month through paperwork and procedures before repatriation.
Meanwhile, it is reported that Kim, seemingly mocking the authorities' efforts to capture him, lived with two Ssangbangwool employees as secretaries during his escape and played golf almost daily. Yang, who fled earlier to the U.S. and continued his escape, recently moved to Thailand and was caught there.
On the 9th, prosecutors requested arrest warrants for six executives and employees of affiliated companies on charges of aiding their overseas escape or destroying evidence related to various corruption suspicions. Among them, executive A of the Kwanglim affiliate is suspected of smuggling out $640,000 overseas with about 10 employees around 2019. It was also found that on July 29 last year, while Kim was on the run, A and others held a birthday party for Kim at a karaoke in Thailand.
At the birthday party, six Ssangbangwool affiliate executives and employees reportedly flew in from Korea carrying 12 frozen Styrofoam boxes filled with perilla oil, sesame oil, fruits, fish, abalone, kimchi, and other items. They served two bottles of whiskey per person and even invited a famous singer to hold a grand birthday party.
The substantive pre-arrest warrant hearing for A and others will be held on the 12th at the Suwon District Court.
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