Steven Lee (54, Korean name Lee Jeong-hwan), the key figure in the 'Woori Bank undervalued sale' case, has been arrested in the United States. It has been 17 years since the Ministry of Justice requested his extradition.
The Ministry of Justice announced on the 5th that Lee was arrested in New Jersey, USA, on the 2nd (local time) in cooperation with U.S. authorities.
Lee is a central figure in investigating the suspicion that Lone Star, a U.S.-based private equity fund, bought Woori Bank at a low price, resold it for a huge profit, and then withdrew from Korea. At the time Lone Star acquired and sold Woori Bank, Lee was known to have closely discussed contract details with Korean policy officials and financial sector figures.
Following complaints from civic groups and the National Assembly, the prosecution began investigating the case in 2006, but Lee had already fled to the U.S. in September 2005. Consequently, the prosecution suspended the indictment against Lee in 2006 and requested his extradition from the U.S. At that time, the prosecution announced that Lee was suspected of breach of trust, tax evasion, and embezzlement related to the illegal sale of Woori Bank and manipulation of profit rates.
Subsequently, the Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that Lee must pay 7.8 billion KRW in income tax to the National Tax Service. He was arrested in Italy in August 2017 but was released locally because Korean legal authorities recognized the situation late.
After a new leadership took office last year, the Ministry of Justice conducted a comprehensive review of the Lone Star case and accelerated judicial procedures against Lee. When Deputy Minister of Justice Ino Gong attended the 'Asia-Pacific Regional Criminal Justice Forum' held in Japan last month, he held a bilateral meeting with a senior delegation from the U.S. Department of Justice and requested the swift progress of Lee's extradition process. The Ministry of Justice also analyzed Lee's latest U.S. location information and provided it to U.S. authorities, leading the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey to arrest Lee based on this information.
The Ministry of Justice stated, "In close cooperation with the U.S., we will proceed with the extradition trial to promptly repatriate Lee, and we will do our utmost to track down and secure the custody of criminals who have fled abroad to evade judicial justice and ensure their extradition."
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