Golden Core CEO "Am I the Optimus Fundraiser?... Lee Hyuk-jin Spread False Information"

Co-Defendant Named, Golden Core CEO Refutes
Head of Alternative Investment Division Rejects Proposal
Also Threatened After Refusing to Lend Money

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Ji-hwan] Jeong Mo, CEO of Golden Core, who was named as a conspirator by former Optimus Asset Management CEO Lee Hyuk-jin in the Optimus private equity fund fraud case, denied any involvement on the 14th, stating that he has "no connection whatsoever to the Optimus incident."

In an interview with Asia Economy on the same day, CEO Jeong said, "Former CEO Lee claimed in a media interview that legal advisor Joo Won of Yangho Law Firm (former head of Nara Bank), who is part of the Optimus advisory group, and I should be investigated. This is a falsehood spread by Lee out of fear of being extradited as a criminal."

On the 11th (local time), former CEO Lee met with a domestic media outlet at his office in Saratoga, California, and regarding the Optimus private equity fund fraud case, he stated, "I am merely a victim who could not be involved," and claimed that the cartel of Optimus CEO Kim Jae-hyun, financial authorities, law firms, and accounting firms meticulously planned the fraud. He also pointed to legal advisor Joo and CEO Jeong as subjects for investigation.

In response, CEO Jeong explained, "Although former CEO Lee once proposed that I become the head of Optimus’s alternative investment division, I never accepted it nor have I ever worked related to that area."

He added, "In the first half of 2017, former CEO Lee made many efforts to recruit me, but I am not foolish enough to join a phantom company. At that time, Lee’s reputation was also very poor, so I had no intention of joining."

CEO Jeong also revealed that he was threatened by former CEO Lee in the past. He claimed, "In 2017, Lee asked me to lend him money, and when I refused, about a month or two later, I received threatening text messages saying, 'Just wait and see, there will be consequences.'"

Regarding the current Optimus incident, CEO Jeong stated that he has no knowledge of it. He explained that the allegations linking Golden Core and Optimus occurred before he took over management rights, and that he is currently focusing solely on normalizing Golden Core through the Gyeonggi Gwangju Bonghyeon Logistics Complex project. He said, "If I knew anything about the Optimus incident, wouldn’t I also be a related party? I was neither in a position to know nor was it something I could have known."

CEO Jeong was appointed as Golden Core’s CEO on April 22 of last year. On the same day, CEO Kim’s wife also became an inside director. At that time, CEO Jeong acquired half of Golden Core’s shares. The reason CEO Kim’s wife is an inside director is because Golden Core has intertwined equity and financial relationships with companies related to Optimus. The other half of Golden Core’s shares are held by Trust All. Trust All is known to have been directly managed by CEO Kim and led the execution of investment funds for various Optimus funds.

CEO Jeong stated, "Although CEO Kim’s wife became an inside director, she has never come to work." According to CEO Jeong, since the management change in April last year, no Optimus funds have been directly invested in the company. Earlier, the Financial Supervisory Service’s investigation reportedly found 31.2 billion KRW that flowed into Golden Core, but this is a financial flow unrelated to the current management.

CEO Jeong said, "The licensing for the Gwangju Bonghyeon Logistics Complex project is nearly complete, and we are considering ways to liquidate the logistics business rights shares held by Trust All. If NH Investment & Securities seizes those shares, a significant portion of the investor damages could be recovered."

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