[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Cho Hyun-beom, chairman of Hankook Tire & Technology (hereinafter Hankook Tire), who is accused of embezzling company funds, appeared at the prosecution on the 6th.
On that day, Cho appeared before the Fair Trade Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jung-seop) in the morning and observed the digital forensic work on seized items such as his mobile phone.
The prosecution, investigating Cho's embezzlement and breach of trust charges, conducted a search and seizure at about 10 locations including his residence, Hankook Tire headquarters, and affiliates on the 19th of last month, securing accounting books and his mobile phone. The prosecution suspects that Cho used company funds for personal home repairs and purchasing foreign luxury cars. After confirming the exact scale of embezzlement and breach of trust, they plan to formally summon him as a suspect for investigation soon.
Cho is also suspected of unfairly supporting affiliates. It is believed that Hankook Tire unfairly supported its affiliate Hankook Precision Works (MKT) from 2014 to 2017 by purchasing tire molds at higher prices than other manufacturers. MKT paid dividends totaling 10.8 billion KRW to the family of the group, including 6.5 billion KRW to Chairman Cho in 2016-2017.
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