Prosecution Arrests and Indicts Kim Bong-hyun for Embezzling 24.1 Billion Won from Suwon Passenger... Lime Investigation Continues

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Kim Bong-hyun, former chairman of Star Mobility (46), who was identified as the mastermind behind the 'Lime Scandal,' has been indicted for embezzling hundreds of millions of won from Suwon Passenger funds.

The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Industrial Technology Crime Investigation Division (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) announced on the 19th that Kim was arrested and indicted on charges including embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, forgery and use of private documents, and aiding a criminal.

Kim is accused of embezzling 24.1 billion won in company funds 26 times from the Suwon Passenger account to the accounts of four companies, including paper companies, from October 2018 to January last year.

Investigations revealed that Kim conspired with Kim Mo, the executive director in charge of finance at Suwon Passenger who recently turned himself in, and another Kim Mo, a director of Star Mobility who has already been indicted, to commit these crimes.

After the embezzlement was discovered, Kim is also accused of helping the executive director Kim flee by sending tens of millions of won for living expenses overseas, and when his re-entry was denied, arranging for him to leave for another country using a chartered plane.

Previously, Kim disappeared ahead of the pre-trial detention hearing in December last year but was caught by police in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, on the 23rd of last month after about five months on the run.

With Kim’s indictment, the investigation into the 'Lime Asset Management Scandal,' involving damages amounting to 1.6 trillion won, is expected to intensify.

Kim will face trial at the Suwon District Court for the Suwon Passenger fund embezzlement case while simultaneously undergoing investigation related to the Lime scandal at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.