Kim Sung-tae, former General Manager of Finance at Ssangbangwool, to be repatriated to Korea on the 11th

Former Chairman Kim Seong-tae of Ssangbangwool Group, who was caught in Thailand while on the run abroad, is returning to Korea through Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 on the 17th of last month. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Kim Sung-tae, former chairman of Ssangbangwool Group, who was arrested and indicted on charges including secretly remitting about 8 million dollars (approximately 10.1 billion KRW) to North Korea, and his brother-in-law, the group's treasurer, will be repatriated to South Korea on the 11th after nine months of overseas evasion.

According to investigative authorities on the 9th, Kim, former head of the Finance General Headquarters of Ssangbangwool Group, will enter the country through Incheon Airport on the morning of the 11th.

The Criminal Division 6 of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-nam) plans to transfer Kim to Suwon for investigation upon his arrival. Kim fled to Thailand at the end of May last year after coming under prosecutorial investigation for embezzlement and breach of trust charges, and was caught by local police in Pattaya, Thailand, in early December of the same year, seven months into his evasion.

He refused repatriation and was undergoing a formal trial when, on the 7th, he was fined 4,000 baht (approximately 150,000 KRW) by the Pattaya District Court for illegal stay, after which he abandoned his appeal and expressed his intention to voluntarily return to South Korea. Kim is known to have deep insight into the financial transactions of Ssangbangwool Group, and his transfer is expected to invigorate the prosecution's investigation.

The prosecution believes that former chairman Kim mainly procured the funds for the remittance to North Korea through two paper companies (SPCs) he established. Kim was deeply involved in the funding process at the time. In the prosecution's investigation, former chairman Kim stated, "Kim is well aware of the specific details of the company's fund flows." It is also reported that former chairman Kim persuaded Kim to return to South Korea, asking him to clear up misunderstandings such as embezzlement.

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