Yoo Hyuk-ki, the second son of former Saemo Group chairman Yoo Byung-eun (deceased in 2014), was forcibly extradited from the United States to South Korea nine years after the Sewol ferry disaster and has been brought to trial on embezzlement charges amounting to 25 billion won.
The Criminal Division 6 of Incheon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Son Sang-wook) announced on the 22nd that Yoo was arrested and indicted on charges of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
Yoo is accused of conspiring with affiliate company representatives close to his father from March 2008 to March 2014 to embezzle a total of 25.493 billion won under the pretext of photo fees, diverting the money to personal accounts or overseas corporations.
The largest portion of this amount, 16.17 billion won, was advance payments for photos received from various affiliates to fund AHAE PRESS INC., a U.S. company that produced his father's photographic works. Additionally, 6.95 billion won was embezzled through a management consulting firm established by Yoo under the pretext of trademark usage fees from affiliates; 2.16 billion won was received as management consulting fees from a design consulting firm operated by his sister, Seom-na; and 190 million won in advisory fees were also included in the embezzled amount.
The prosecution explained that Yoo either did not actually perform consulting work or received de facto 'kickbacks' from affiliates under false trademark rights claims, and that he laundered money by transferring embezzled funds from personal accounts to other accounts and then consolidating them again. They further stated that the embezzled money was used to purchase overseas real estate, hold exhibitions of his father's photographs, and some were spent on luxury cars and designer goods.
Initially, the prosecution had specified Yoo's embezzlement amount as 55.9 billion won during the interim investigation announcement related to the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, but the amount was reduced to around 25 billion won in accordance with the extradition treaty between South Korea and the United States. According to Article 15 (Principle of Specificity) of the Korea-U.S. Extradition Treaty, a criminal cannot be prosecuted for additional crimes other than those for which extradition is permitted in the requesting country. For the Korean prosecution to indict Yoo on additional charges, consent from U.S. authorities is required.
The prosecution plans to obtain consent from the U.S. side to additionally indict Yoo on other charges, including 30.6 billion won in embezzlement and 12.5 billion won in tax evasion.
With Yoo's indictment on this day, the investigation into the family and associates of former chairman Yoo has effectively concluded after nine years. A total of 20 people, including six family members of the former chairman, five associates, and nine affiliate company presidents, were arrested, indicted, and convicted.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
