Police Discover Additional 254 Gold Bars at Residence of Father of Ostem Implant Embezzlement Employee

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The police investigating the embezzlement case involving Mr. Lee (45), an employee of Osstem Implant, who embezzled around 200 billion won, have seized 254 one-kilogram gold bars from the residence of Lee's father.

The Gangseo Police Station in Seoul conducted a search and seizure operation from 8:10 p.m. the previous day until 12:30 a.m. at three residences in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, belonging to Lee's father, wife, and younger sister. During the search, the police discovered and confiscated 254 new gold bars. As a result, they have secured 755 out of the 851 gold bars that Lee purchased with the embezzled funds. When Lee was arrested on the 5th, the police had already seized 497 gold bars. Additionally, four gold bars that Lee had not yet retrieved remain frozen at the Korea Gold Exchange.

The police conducted the search based on analysis of nearby closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, suspecting that the unrecovered gold bars were hidden at these residences. The discovery of gold bars at the residences has increased the possibility of collusion between Lee and his family members in the crime.

The police have formally registered Lee's wife and sister-in-law as suspects and are investigating whether they were involved in the conspiracy. It was previously revealed that Lee used the embezzled funds to purchase real estate worth 7.5 billion won under the names of his wife and sister-in-law. Specifically, he bought an apartment and officetel in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, for 2.89 billion won under his wife's name, and an apartment in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, for 1.65 billion won under his sister-in-law's name. He also purchased a luxury resort membership in Jeju Island worth over 3 billion won under his wife's name. Before going into hiding, Lee reportedly gifted commercial buildings he owned to his wife and sister-in-law couples, one building each, and repaid the loans tied to those buildings.

Lee's wife was present on a different floor of the same building when Lee was arrested on the 5th. This building had previously been gifted by Lee to his wife, with the fourth floor serving as their residence.

Meanwhile, the police are reportedly analyzing internal CCTV footage from Osstem Implant, which was voluntarily submitted. The purpose is to verify Lee's claims and to check for any instructions from higher-ups within the company or collusion with other executives and employees. On the 7th, the police summoned and questioned two employees who worked on the same team as Lee, and also investigated personnel in the finance department as witnesses.

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