Yoo Hyuk-ki, the second son of the late Yoo Byung-eun, former chairman of the Semo Group, will be repatriated to South Korea. This comes nine years after the Sewol ferry disaster in April 2014.
The Ministry of Justice announced on the 3rd that, following the criminal extradition procedure, Yoo’s custody will be transferred from U.S. authorities and he is scheduled to be repatriated to Incheon International Airport at 5:20 a.m. on the 4th. Yoo is the last of the four fugitives who fled abroad in connection with the Sewol incident to be repatriated to South Korea.
Upon his return, Yoo is expected to be immediately escorted to the Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office, which is investigating the 'Sewol ferry real owner corruption' case, to undergo questioning.
Yoo Hyuk-ki [Photo by Yonhap News]
The prosecution regards Yoo as the successor to former chairman Yoo, who was identified as the de facto controlling shareholder of the Sewol ferry operator, Cheonghaejin Marine. Yoo is reported to have actively managed the affiliated companies. At the time in 2014, the prosecution estimated Yoo’s embezzlement and breach of trust charges to amount to 55.9 billion KRW.
As a U.S. permanent resident, Yoo did not return to South Korea despite three summonses from the prosecution after late April 2014. Consequently, the prosecution issued a red notice for Yoo through Interpol and requested his extradition. Yoo was eventually arrested in New York, U.S., in July 2020 and was subjected to an extradition trial. The U.S. court ruled the following year that Yoo was subject to extradition.
Yoo filed a habeas corpus petition against this decision, but it was finally dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court in January. As the U.S. Department of State’s extradition approval process continued, the Ministry of Justice invited U.S. Department of Justice officials to South Korea in May to resume the regular 'Korea-U.S. Criminal Cooperation Working Meeting' after four years and requested a swift repatriation. With the U.S. granting final approval, this repatriation was realized.
Previously, the prosecution brought back three individuals who fled abroad: former chairman Yoo’s daughter Seom-na and associates Kim Hye-kyung and Kim Pil-bae, and put them on trial. All of them have either had their sentences finalized or are undergoing appeals.
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