Lee Hojin, former chairman of Taekwang Group, who is accused of embezzlement and breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, appeared at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 16th to undergo a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing).
Former Taekwang Group Chairman Lee Hojin is entering the courtroom on the 16th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, to attend the pre-trial detention hearing. [Photo by Lee Sungmin]
Arriving at the court around 9:46 a.m., former Chairman Lee bowed his head to greet the press and then headed straight to the courtroom. He did not respond to questions from reporters regarding whether he admits to the charges or his feelings.
The police are investigating allegations that former Chairman Lee mobilized group affiliates to create slush funds amounting to billions of won.
The police believe that former Chairman Lee instructed employees to receive false salaries into their accounts and then embezzled the funds. Although holding concurrent positions as executives in affiliate companies is prohibited, some were arranged to be registered at two companies to receive double salaries.
Additionally, former Chairman Lee is suspected of having Taekwang CC pay 860 million won for golf practice range construction costs on his behalf and of privately using approximately 80 million won from affiliate company corporate cards.
In response, Taekwang stated, "Most of the allegations were committed by former Chairman of the Management Council Kim Giyu, who oversaw group management," and claimed, "As former Chairman Kim faced exposure of illegal acts during the prosecution investigation and was at risk of judicial action, he is shifting the responsibility onto former Chairman Lee."
Taekwang Group recently confirmed through an internal audit that former Chairman Kim had created off-the-books funds and filed a complaint with the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office on the 9th for breach of trust and other charges.
They also explained that the payment of the golf practice range construction costs was an attempt by former Chairman Kim to cover up his own corruption. Taekwang Group stated, "Former Chairman Kim is under prosecution investigation for allegedly inflating construction costs and funneling them to an acquaintance’s company during the 2015 expansion of the Taekwang CC clubhouse."
Former Chairman Kim is currently under investigation by the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office for similar charges of embezzlement and others.
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