Park Hyunjong, former chairman of the comprehensive food service company bhc, who has been under police investigation for allegations of embezzlement of company funds, has been handed over to the prosecution.
On May 10, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that last month, Park was referred to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office without detention on charges including embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. The police believe that Park personally misappropriated tens of billions of won from company funds and, in December 2023, conducted searches and seizures at his residence in Songpa-gu and the bhc headquarters. In March, the police also applied for an arrest warrant for Park, but it was dismissed by the court, after which they continued to supplement the investigation.
Previously, on July 3, 2015, Park was indicted for accessing BBQ's internal computer network by illegally using the IDs and passwords of two current and former BBQ employees at the bhc headquarters office. He was charged with violations of the Information and Communications Network Act and the Personal Information Protection Act. Of these charges, the violation of the Information and Communications Network Act was upheld, and in February, the Supreme Court finalized a sentence of six months in prison, suspended for two years.
Park previously served as executive vice president in charge of overseas business at BBQ. After BBQ sold bhc to a private equity fund in 2013, he moved to bhc and became chairman. In November 2023, Global Gourmet Services, the holding company of bhc, dismissed him citing the need for management reform.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
