Kim Yong-bin, chairman of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Construction, who is suspected of embezzlement and breach of trust, has been detained.
At around 1:30 p.m. on the 28th, Judge Yoo Hwan-woo, in charge of warrants at the Seoul Southern District Court, held a pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant substantive examination) for Chairman Kim and issued an arrest warrant, citing "concerns about evidence destruction and flight risk." The court considered the case serious based solely on the criminal facts recognized in the charges.
On the same day, arrest warrants for executives Jang, Shin, and Sung, who were also questioned, were dismissed. The court judged that "there is room for dispute regarding some of the criminal facts and the degree of involvement stated in the warrant application, so it is necessary to allow sufficient exercise of the right to defense." Furthermore, the court stated that "it is difficult to see any concerns about evidence destruction or flight risk" regarding these individuals.
Chairman Kim is suspected of paying the capital increase amount with borrowed money during the paid-in capital increase process of Korea Corporation, a call center operation agency known to be owned by him in 2018, and after the capital increase was completed, withdrawing the funds to repay the loan.
He is also accused of obtaining undisclosed information in advance and disposing of held shares to avoid losses just before the suspension of Korea Corporation's stock trading in March 2020. Prosecutors are reportedly also investigating allegations that Kim embezzled about 100 million won by privately using the corporate card.
Meanwhile, at around 1:22 p.m. on the same day, Chairman Kim, who appeared for the warrant substantive examination, remained silent when asked by reporters whether he admitted to the charges and headed into the courtroom.
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