Ostem Implant Search and Seizure Ends... Focus on Securing Documents Centered on Financial Line

Chairman Choi Kyu-ok, CEO Eom Tae-gwan's Office Excluded

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The headquarters of Osstem Implant, where an embezzlement case involving company funds worth 221.5 billion KRW occurred, was raided and searched. This came just 12 days after a financial management employee, Lee Mo (45, detained), was accused on December 31 last year of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (embezzlement in the course of duty).

On the 12th, the Gangseo Police Station in Seoul sent investigators to Osstem Implant’s headquarters in Magok-dong, Gangseo-gu, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. The police reportedly focused the raid on the internal financial line, including the financial management team where Lee served as team leader.

Since Lee embezzled company funds by forging company documents, the police concentrated on securing financial documents such as balance certificates and deposit/withdrawal records. They also obtained some internal messenger records and closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, considering the possibility that other employees may have conspired with Lee in the crime.

Earlier, Lee’s team members testified during police investigations that Lee instructed them to forge balance certificates by changing balances using PDF editing software. The police plan to compare and analyze the materials secured through the raid with those previously submitted by the company to check if the company deliberately omitted any documents.

It was confirmed that the offices of Chairman Choi Gyu-ok and CEO Eom Tae-gwan, whom Lee pointed to as the 'upper echelon' of the embezzlement incident, were not included in this raid.

Meanwhile, the police announced that they seized the remaining 100 gold bars, which had been hidden and whose whereabouts were unknown, from Lee’s younger sister’s house, securing all 851 gold bars purchased with the embezzled funds. They also stated that most of the 188 billion KRW embezzled amount’s usage has been identified, and besides seizing gold bars and cash, they plan to freeze stocks worth 25.2 billion KRW and apply for pre-indictment seizure preservation of real estate and membership rights to recover the damages. It was found that Lee invested in about 42 stocks with the embezzled funds, resulting in a loss of 76.1 billion KRW.

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