Prosecution Indicts Former Woori Bank Head for 'Son Tae-seung Relative's Improper Loan'

Im Mo, former head of a division at Woori Bank, who is accused of leading improper loans to relatives of former Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung, has been indicted while in custody.

The Financial Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Su-hong) announced on the 15th that Im was indicted in custody on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust, bribery, etc.).

According to the prosecution, Im is accused of being involved in improper loans after building a relationship with Kim Mo, the brother-in-law of former Chairman Sohn, while working as the head of Woori Bank’s Sindorim Financial Center and Seolleung Financial Center.

The prosecution is investigating based on the Financial Supervisory Service’s inspection results, which revealed that Woori Bank issued improper loans amounting to 35 billion won to corporations or individual business owners related to former Chairman Sohn’s relatives from April 2020 to January this year.

While investigating the circumstances under which the large-scale loans were made, the prosecution is reportedly examining whether former Chairman Sohn and the management at the time ordered or were aware of these loans.

Earlier, Kim, the brother-in-law of former Chairman Sohn, was also indicted in custody on the 24th of last month on charges of embezzlement, forgery of private documents, and use of forged documents under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, for misappropriating company funds under his wife’s name and inflating prices to obtain excessive loans during real estate purchases through the company.