[Woori Bank Embezzlement] Suspicious Signs to Prevent the Incident... But the Responsible Staff Did Not Even Check

Embezzlement Method Includes 'Document Forgery'
Creditors Decide 'Keep Depositing Money in Woori Bank'
Yet Payment Approved Without Suspecting Other Institution's Transfer Documents
Superiors Didn't Even Call Creditors for Confirmation

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] Suspicious circumstances have been identified suggesting that the 60 billion KRW embezzlement incident at Woori Bank could have been prevented. Despite situations where document forgery could have been detected, employees of the Corporate Improvement Department approved the documents without any verification procedures.

According to financial authorities and the police on the 6th, Mr. A, a deputy manager in Woori Bank's Corporate Improvement Department who embezzled 61.4 billion KRW of company funds, is suspected of using document forgery as part of his criminal method. The money stolen by Mr. A was the amount that the Iranian home appliance company ‘Entechap’ had deposited when attempting to acquire Daewoo Electronics but could not retrieve due to contract cancellation. The creditors of Daewoo Electronics entrusted this contract money to Woori Bank, the main creditor bank.

It is known that Mr. A manipulated documents to transfer this contract money to another account. In 2012 and 2015, he embezzled 17.3 billion KRW and 14.8 billion KRW respectively using forged documents claiming the money was entrusted to a real estate trust company. In 2018, he embezzled 29.3 billion KRW with forged documents stating that the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO), the largest shareholder of Daewoo Electronics, intended to manage the funds directly.

However, in 2013, the creditors transferred Daewoo Electronics to the Dongbu Group and promoted an agenda stating that "Woori Bank will continue to manage funds even after the sale process is completed." The post-management council formed by the creditors approved this agenda. The creditors entrusted Woori Bank with post-management of funds, but senior officials did not suspect the forged documents proposing to send funds to the real estate trust company or KAMCO.

This has even led to reactions of disbelief among the creditors at the time, as it is unlikely that Woori Bank was unaware of these facts. Furthermore, senior officials in Woori Bank's Corporate Improvement Department reportedly did not make any verification calls to KAMCO despite receiving official letters that were completely different from the creditors' resolution. A representative from one of the creditor institutions explained, "Since Woori Bank had resolved to continue managing the funds, the embezzlement incident is surprising," adding, "As far as I know, no verification calls were made."

Meanwhile, the police have arrested and sent Mr. A, the Woori Bank employee accused of embezzlement, and his younger brother for prosecution. Mr. B, an acquaintance of Mr. A, is also under investigation with an arrest warrant issued on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes related to concealment of criminal proceeds.

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