SK Networks Chairman Choi Seon-won Detained... Court Cites "Risk of Evidence Destruction" (2nd Report)

Choi Sun-won, Chairman of SK Networks, is leaving the courtroom after completing the pre-trial detention hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 17th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A detention warrant for Choi Cheol-won, chairman of SK Networks, was issued on the afternoon of the 17th. Chairman Choi is suspected of embezzling company funds to create slush funds worth around 100 billion won.

Won Jeong-sook, the judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, issued the detention warrant for Chairman Choi at around 8:50 p.m. that day. Judge Won stated, "There is substantial reason to suspect that the suspect committed the crime as alleged, and there is concern that evidence may be destroyed using his position," adding, "Considering the scale of the crime and its impact on the related company, the grounds and necessity for detention are recognized."

Chairman Choi underwent a detention hearing (warrant substantive examination) for about three and a half hours starting at 10 a.m. that day. After the hearing, Choi’s side did not respond to reporters’ questions about whether he admitted to the charges. When he arrived at the court for the morning hearing, he entered the courtroom through a different entrance than the one where reporters were waiting.

Earlier, on the 15th, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Jeon Jun-cheol) filed a pre-detention warrant request against Chairman Choi on charges including embezzlement and breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. The prosecution believes that Chairman Choi created slush funds by embezzling company money while managing SK Networks and SKC. It is also suspected that part of the rent for the Walkerhill Hotel villa where Chairman Choi resided was paid with company funds.

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) detected suspicious fund flows amounting to around 20 billion won involving SK Networks in 2018 and reported the matter to the prosecution. After a long-term account tracking, the prosecution conducted raids in early October last year on the headquarters of SK Networks and SKC, SK Telesys, and Chairman Choi’s residence, and summoned company executives to verify whether Chairman Choi ordered the creation of slush funds. On the 7th of last month, Chairman Choi was summoned as a suspect and investigated for over 12 hours.

Chairman Choi is the second son of the late Choi Jong-gun, founder of SK Group, and cousin elder brother of Choi Tae-won, chairman of SK Group. He has served as the chairman of SK Networks’ board of directors since 2016.

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