Two Hanssem Executives Charged with Excessive Advertising Agency Payments... Sent to Prosecution Without Detention

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] Former executives of the furniture company Hanssem, accused of embezzling over 2 billion KRW, have been sent to the prosecution.

According to the police on the 18th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Financial Crime Investigation Unit sent former Director Lee and former Team Leader Heo of Hanssem to the prosecution without detention last month on charges of breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

They are suspected of transferring more than 4.4 billion KRW to four advertising agencies from 2018 to last year and embezzling 2.6 billion KRW from that amount. The advertising agencies in question are suspected to be paper companies.

The police seized the headquarters in January after Hanssem obtained related intelligence. Following the investigation, it is understood that the charges were judged to be personal corruption. Former Chairman Choi Yang-ha, who was chairman at the time, was also booked but no specific charges were found.

The police applied for pre-arrest warrants for former Director Lee and former Team Leader Heo on the 12th of last month, but the court dismissed the request.

Meanwhile, the investigation into former Director Lee's violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act is ongoing. He is suspected of giving furniture and interior discounts of up to several million KRW to multiple media executives, reporters, and police officers.

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