Fraud Allegations Amounting to 1.5 Trillion Won and Embezzlement Charges of 60 Billion Won
Gu Young-bae, CEO of Qoo10 Group, identified as the key suspect who triggered the large-scale unpaid settlement incident at TMON and WEMAKEPRICE, is attending the pre-arrest hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 10th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
The prosecution investigating the T-Mef (Timon·Wemakeprice) unpaid settlement incident summoned Koo Young-bae, CEO of Qoo10, on the 8th. This is the third time Koo, considered the key figure in the T-Mef incident, has been summoned for investigation. He was also questioned on September 30 and last month on the 2nd.
It has been a month since the arrest warrant was dismissed, and there are expectations that the prosecution will soon reapply for an arrest warrant.
According to the legal community, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's T-Mef dedicated investigation team (led by Chief Prosecutor Lee Joon-dong) summoned CEO Koo on this day as a suspect on charges of embezzlement, fraud, and breach of trust. The prosecution previously requested arrest warrants for Koo, Ryu Kwang-jin, CEO of Timon, and Ryu Hwa-hyun, CEO of Wemakeprice, but all were dismissed on the 10th of last month. Since then, the prosecution has been conducting supplementary investigations with the possibility of reapplying for the arrest warrants in mind.
CEO Koo is regarded as the central figure in the large-scale unpaid settlement incident involving Timon and Wemakeprice. Despite being aware of the inability to pay settlement funds, he is accused of conspiring with Ryu Kwang-jin, CEO of Timon, and Ryu Hwa-hyun, CEO of Wemakeprice, to deceive sellers and continue a Ponzi-like operation, embezzling approximately 1.595 trillion won worth of sales proceeds and other funds.
The prosecution is expected to decide whether to reapply for the arrest warrant after further verifying the facts with CEO Koo on this day. On the 4th and 5th, the prosecution also summoned Ryu Kwang-jin, CEO of Timon, and Ryu Hwa-hyun, CEO of Wemakeprice, for two consecutive days to question them about the facts.
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