[La Deok-yeon Gate] A Look at the Major Corporations Established by La Deok-yeon and His Group

Golf, Resort, Broadcasting & Entertainment, Video Production, Beauty, Furniture Industries, etc.
Recruiting Members, Charging Fees... Potential Role as a Money Laundering Channel Increases

"What? A corporation was established under my name? It seems like the people under me made it... I don't really know about it."

Ra Deok-yeon, CEO of Hoan, who was arrested on charges of stock price manipulation related to the Societe Generale (SG) Securities crash incident, responded this way in a phone interview with Asia Economy when asked about the corporation established under his name. A week before the CFD forced liquidation triggered a limit-down in eight stocks, a furniture company under Ra Deok-yeon's name was established. However, he was unaware of it. This company is presumed to have been created as a 'fund reservoir' to launder money by receiving commissions from investors.

Ra Deok-yeon, CEO of Hoan, who was arrested on the 11th. Photo by Yonhap News

16 Corporations Confirmed with Ra Deok-yeon and Associates as CEOs or Directors

Asia Economy has identified 16 corporations presumed to be fund reservoirs for Ra Deok-yeon and his associates. These include Everest Partners, Spetedic, Stage4, Gunrang, Motif Story, Inara-ui Wang-i Nuguinga, Studio Cartel, Hoan FG, W, Signature Golf, Ashfeld Ange Equestrian & Resort, R&A, Signature Beauty, Hoan, R&K Holdings, and Economic Media.

The industries vary. Everest Partners and Hoan FG are classified as management consulting firms. Their capital amounts are 10 million KRW and 1.5 billion KRW, respectively. Ra is listed as the CEO of Everest Partners, while Hoan FG's CEO is Mr. Byun, who is known to be a close associate of Ra.

Everest Partners is an unregistered quasi-investment advisory firm not even reported to financial authorities. It provides investment advice on financial investment products to unspecified individuals. Ra appears to have attracted investors through this company.

The furniture company Spetedic also stands out. Ra is registered as an inside director of this company. He newly established this corporation on the 18th of last month. With a capital of 500 million KRW, it is relatively large for a newly established corporation. Its business purposes include manufacturing and wholesale/retail of wooden furniture and other furniture. Although Ra is the CEO, he was unaware of the company's establishment.

Currently, at the registered address of Spetedic, there is an M-brand furniture store operated by Company C. The M furniture brand uses the first floor and basement level 1 of this building, which matches the registered address of Ra's corporation. However, there is no brand named Spetedic. Because of this, the industry suspects that Ra and his associates established a shell company to pocket investment profits. It is also notable that the father of professional golfer Mr. An, a close associate of Ra, is involved in the furniture business.

Several other corporations related to warrant production also attract attention. Companies associated with Ra include Stage4, Gunrang, Motif Story, Inara-ui Wang-i Nuguinga, and Studio Cartel. All these companies are led by Mr. Byun, a close associate of Ra. Studio Cartel has a capital of 1.3 billion KRW, while the others have a modest capital of about 10 million KRW, indicating a small scale.

No Presence in Related Industries... Suspected Money Laundering Channels

The business purposes are similar. They mainly specify ▲broadcast program production, purchase, sales, and rental ▲exchange business with domestic and international broadcasters and program producers ▲film, broadcasting, and other performance-related businesses ▲entertainment-related businesses. Most are concentrated in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. However, there are doubts about whether they actually conduct these businesses, as they have no presence in the industry. Therefore, it is suspected that these companies also served as channels for money laundering.

An industry insider in cultural content investment such as film and drama said, "These are all companies I've never heard of. Even if they are startups, if they were active in the industry, people would know."

Among the content companies, notable corporations include R&A (cable TV) and Economic Media (internet media). The industry believes that Ra and others received commissions from investors in the form of advertisements through cable TV and other media, then paid that money to content companies as production costs or video purchases to embezzle funds.

Additionally, Ra and associates operated in various industries under companies such as W (restaurant), Signature Golf (golf practice range), Ashfeld Ange Equestrian & Resort (equestrian club), Signature Beauty (skin care), Hoan (investment consulting), and R&K Holdings (investment advisory). The industry believes Ra recruited members through Signature Golf and Signature Beauty and circulated money through the other companies.

Specifically, they are suspected of receiving part of the profits as commissions through these companies while employing a so-called 'card kkang' method, and of attempting to embezzle profits and commissions realized from stock price manipulation by purchasing overseas real estate such as golf courses. In fact, Signature Golf, an indoor golf practice range, has a capital of 13.3 billion KRW, raising suspicions of overseas remittances.

Meanwhile, Ra and others were arrested on the 11th on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act and the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (Money Laundering). The prosecution plans to investigate the specific methods and circumstances of stock price manipulation and expand the investigation to other accomplices involved in market manipulation.

※This SG Securities-triggered stock price crash has sounded an alarm for the capital market order. Readers' tips will be a great help in uncovering the truth. We welcome any reports regarding investment damage cases, stock price manipulation and asset concealment by Ra Deok-yeon and associates, insider information on large-scale sales by major shareholders of Dow Data and Seoul Gas, or any other relevant content (jebo1@asiae.co.kr). Asia Economy will do its best to establish a transparent capital market order.