[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Former Ssangbangwool Group Chairman Kim Seong-tae, accused of illegal remittances to North Korea and bribery, has been indicted.
The Criminal Division 6 of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-nam) announced on the 3rd that Kim was arrested and indicted on charges including violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, violation of the Political Funds Act and bribery, and violation of the Capital Markets Act.
Kim is accused of smuggling about 8 million dollars overseas under the pretext of paying for smart farm costs to North Korea while promoting inter-Korean business in 2019, and then delivering the money to North Korea.
He is also accused of providing 330 million won in political funds and about 260 million won of that amount as bribes to former Gyeonggi Province Deputy Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young from July 2018 to July last year.
Charges also include violation of the Capital Markets Act such as stock price manipulation during the issuance of convertible bonds three times by Ssangbangwool Group affiliates in 2018-2019, embezzlement and breach of trust of 4.3 billion won from group affiliate funds from 2014 to last year, and embezzlement and breach of trust of about 59.2 billion won from unlisted company funds created under the names of group executives and employees from 2019 to 2021.
Additionally, he is charged with instructing executives and employees to delete related data such as computer replacements, constituting obstruction of evidence.
Kim fled overseas in May last year, just before the prosecution's investigation intensified, and was captured by a local arrest team at a golf course in Thailand on the 10th of last month. Yang Seon-gil, Ssangbangwool Group Chairman, who was also on the run, was arrested as well. The prosecution indicted Chairman Yang together with Kim on charges of embezzling and breaching trust of company funds worth about 35.8 billion won in collusion.
The prosecution stated, "Although there are multiple related criminal facts, the investigation focused on the crimes included in the arrest warrant within 20 days of detention, and some charges were filed," adding, "Several other criminal facts that could not be prosecuted due to the tight deadline are currently under ongoing investigation."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
