Hamilton Hotel CEO additionally booked on embezzlement charges... Family corruption suspicions

Company Funds Paid to Family Under Salary Title

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The Special Investigation Headquarters (SIH) of the National Police Agency, which is investigating the Itaewon disaster, announced on the 25th that it has detected signs that Lee, the CEO of Hamilton Hotel, embezzled a large sum of money by paying salaries to family members who did not work and is currently investigating.

The SIH recently added Lee to the investigation on charges of embezzlement in the course of business. Lee is suspected of registering his mother and wife as an internal director and auditor, respectively, and paying them hundreds of millions of won over several years as salaries despite them not actually working. The SIH reportedly discovered that Lee’s family created multiple corporate cards and used them for personal purposes. The SIH is tracking the overall flow of funds, including corporate card payment details.

Earlier, Lee was booked in early last month on charges of violating the Building Act and Road Act for erecting illegal structures around the main building of Hamilton Hotel and occupying roads without permission, and has been under investigation by the SIH. Despite notices from Yongsan District Office to dismantle the illegal structures, Hamilton Hotel delayed demolition by paying more than 50 million won in enforcement fines since 2014. In relation to this, the SIH conducted a search and seizure of Hamilton Hotel and others in early last month and summoned Lee as a suspect for questioning on the 2nd of this month.

From the early stages of the investigation, the SIH has been examining whether there was collusion between Hamilton Hotel, which maintained illegal structures for a long time, and administrative officials from Yongsan District Office and other agencies. The signs of family corruption were also detected during this investigation process. An SIH official said, "Since the illegal buildings had been left unattended for years, we had no choice but to look into whether there was lobbying involved."

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