Police Secure Remaining 100 Gold Bars Missing from 'Ostem Implant'... Headquarters Raided (Comprehensive)

Gold Bars Found at Lee's Sister's Residence... All Embezzled Funds' Usage Secured
Search and Seizure Focused on Ostem Implant Headquarters' Financial Management Team Underway

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The police have secured all the remaining gold bars that were hidden and unaccounted for by Lee Mo (45, detained), who embezzled 221.5 billion won of company funds, and conducted a search and seizure at the Ostem Implant headquarters.

On the afternoon of the 12th, the police announced that they seized 100 gold bars weighing 1kg each at the residence of Lee’s younger sister. It is known that the police initiated the search and seizure after detecting the possibility that the unaccounted gold bars were hidden at the sister’s residence through analysis of nearby closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.

With the newly seized 100 gold bars, the police have now secured all 851 gold bars that Lee purchased with the embezzled funds. Previously, the police seized 497 gold bars during Lee’s arrest on the 5th and 254 bars at Lee’s father’s residence on the 11th. Additionally, four gold bars that Lee had not yet collected remain frozen at the Korea Gold Exchange.

Lee reportedly confessed after receiving news on the morning of the 12th that his father, who was scheduled to be questioned by the police the previous day, was found dead by suicide in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. Accordingly, the police have secured the whereabouts of 188 billion won of the embezzled 221.5 billion won, excluding the 33.5 billion won Lee has returned. This includes gold bars worth 68.1 billion won, frozen stocks worth 25.2 billion won, and cash amounting to 440 million won.

However, it is difficult to secure the 75.1 billion won loss Lee incurred from stock investments. A police official explained, "Additional amounts may be secured depending on the results of future seizure and confiscation applications."

Meanwhile, with gold bars found at the residences of Lee’s family, the possibility of collusion among Lee and his family members is gaining weight. So far, the police have booked four people: Lee’s wife, sister-in-law, younger sister, and younger brother. Among them, Lee’s wife and sister-in-law have been booked on charges of embezzlement in the course of business and concealment of criminal proceeds under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, effectively identifying them as accomplices.

Separately, the police conducted a search and seizure at the Ostem Implant headquarters located in Magok-dong, Gangseo-gu, on the afternoon of the same day.

Through the search and seizure, the police are expected to verify whether Lee’s statements align with the actual embezzlement process and investigate suspicions of accomplices raised by some quarters.

Ostem Implant maintains that there was absolutely no involvement from higher-ups, but Lee’s side claims that this embezzlement cannot be seen as a mere personal deviation.

A Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official said, "We cannot trust the suspect’s statements. Since we cannot confirm based on statements alone, we are conducting a search and seizure at the headquarters to investigate the embezzlement process."

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