Former Woori Bank Vice President Arrested on Suspicion of Involvement in Illegal Loans... Current Executive Dismissed

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 31st, a former vice president of Woori Bank was arrested in connection with allegations of improper loans involving relatives of Son Tae-seung, former chairman of Woori Financial Group.

Jung Won, the judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Southern District Court, issued an arrest warrant for Seong Mo, former vice president of Woori Bank (currently a representative of a Woori Bank affiliate), on charges of breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. The court stated the reason for detention was "concerns over evidence destruction and flight risk."

However, the arrest warrant for Kang Mo, head of a division at Woori Bank, who was also subject to the warrant request, was dismissed, with the court stating, "It is necessary to guarantee the right to defense, and it cannot be concluded that there is a risk of evidence destruction or flight."

According to the prosecution, from 2020 to 2022, while working at Woori Bank’s headquarters, they are suspected of approving improper loans amounting to 35 billion KRW to corporations and individual business owners related to relatives of former chairman Son. The investigation began after the Financial Supervisory Service handed over the results of its examination of related loans from April 2020 to January of this year to the prosecution.

The prosecution is investigating the circumstances under which the large-scale loans were made and is examining whether former chairman Son and other executives at the time were involved. In this regard, the prosecution conducted a search and seizure at former chairman Son’s residence and other locations on the 11th of this month.

Earlier, on the 24th of last month, the prosecution indicted Kim Mo, brother-in-law of former chairman Son, on charges of embezzlement, forgery of private documents, and use of forged documents under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. Additionally, on the 15th of this month, Im Mo, former head of a division at Woori Bank suspected of leading the improper loans, was also indicted and detained on charges including breach of trust and bribery under the same law.