Kim Seong-tae, Former Ssangbangwool Chairman, Imminent Domestic Extradition... Investigation Accelerates

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] As the repatriation of Kim Seong-tae, former chairman of Ssangbangwool Group, who was arrested in Thailand while on the run abroad, is imminent, investigations into various allegations related to Ssangbangwool, which have been proceeding in multiple directions, are expected to accelerate.

According to the legal community on the 12th, the Criminal Division 6 of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Yoo Min-jong) plans to conduct an interrogation of former Chairman Kim as soon as he arrives in the country, following his arrest on the 10th at a golf course in Pathum Thani, Thailand.

Prior to requesting an Interpol red notice for former Chairman Kim last year, the prosecution had obtained an arrest warrant from the court.

Therefore, after former Chairman Kim enters through Incheon Airport, a detention warrant must be requested within 48 hours to secure his custody.

The charges against former Chairman Kim include embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, breach of trust, violation of the Capital Markets Act, destruction of evidence, and he is also suspected of illegal remittances to North Korea and covering legal fees for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.

The prosecution, viewing former Chairman Kim as the de facto owner of Ssangbangwool Group who led or directed all related charges and suspicions, plans to verify the main charges and allegations with him.

Earlier, the prosecution reportedly stated in the warrant request for A, former CFO of Ssangbangwool, who was charged with false disclosure related to the 20 billion KRW convertible bonds (CB) issued by Ssangbangwool between 2018 and 2019, that these illegal acts were directed by former Chairman Kim.

Additionally, the prosecution believes that former Chairman Kim led the alleged illegal remittance to North Korea, where Ssangbangwool reportedly mobilized dozens of executives and employees around 2019 to smuggle out 6.4 million USD (approximately 7.2 billion KRW at the time) to China and then transferred it to the North.

In fact, in the indictment of Ahn Bu-soo, chairman of the Asia-Pacific Peace Exchange Association, who was arrested and indicted on charges including embezzlement and violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, former Chairman Kim is listed as a co-conspirator in the North Korea remittance allegations.

Above all, to clarify the allegations of covering legal fees for Democratic Party leader Lee, which has attracted political attention, Lee’s testimony is necessary.

The legal fee cover-up allegation involves claims that during Lee’s tenure as governor of Gyeonggi Province in 2018, large sums of legal fees were paid on his behalf to lawyers handling a Public Official Election Act violation case, using Ssangbangwool Group’s convertible bonds.

The prosecution is also expected to question the suspicion that the convertible bonds used for covering the legal fees originated from Chakan-i Invest, a company effectively owned by former Chairman Kim.

Meanwhile, former Chairman Kim, along with current Ssangbangwool Chairman Yang Seon-gil, was arrested by the local immigration enforcement team at a golf course in Pathum Thani, Thailand, at around 7:30 PM on the 10th (local time 5:30 PM).

The Thai court sentenced former Chairman Kim to a fine on the same day after he expressed his intention to 'voluntarily return,' and the immigration office is reportedly proceeding with deportation procedures.

Former Chairman Kim is expected to arrive in Korea as early as the 13th or 14th by air.

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