Kim Sung-tae of Ssangbangwool Accused of Embezzlement of 50 Billion Won, 'Treasurer' Arrested and Indicted

Kim Mo, the treasurer and brother-in-law of former Ssangbangwool Group Chairman Kim Seong-tae, who was arrested while fleeing abroad and repatriated to South Korea, has been indicted.

Kim Mo, former head of finance at Ssangbangwool Group, who was the treasurer and brother-in-law of Kim Sung-tae, former chairman of Ssangbangwool Group, detained and indicted on charges including illegal remittance to North Korea, is returning to South Korea through Incheon Airport on the morning of the 11th after nine months of overseas evasion.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 28th, the Criminal Division 6 of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-nam) indicted Kim, former head of finance at Ssangbangwool Group, on charges including embezzlement, breach of trust, violation of the Capital Markets Act, and violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.

Kim is accused of embezzling approximately 53.2 billion KRW from unlisted companies such as paper companies created under the names of group executives between 2019 and 2021. Former Chairman Kim allegedly withdrew company funds held for business purposes under the name of short-term loans to the CEO, repeatedly exchanged them into checks or cash to obscure their origin, and transferred the money to other corporations through multiple accounts. Kim is reported to have been involved in this scheme.

He is also charged with embezzlement and breach of trust involving 5.4 billion KRW of affiliate company funds, including paying salaries to fictitious employees from 2014 to 2022. Additionally, it was found that the group’s affiliates made false disclosures during the issuance of convertible bonds (CB) three times between 2018 and 2019.

In 2019, while promoting inter-Korean business, Kim is investigated to have smuggled out 8 million USD overseas (5 million USD for the North Korean smart farm project and 3 million USD for the Gyeonggi Province governor’s visit to North Korea) and delivered it to North Korea.

When the prosecution’s investigation into Ssangbangwool intensified last year, Kim fled abroad but was arrested in Thailand. He expressed his intention to voluntarily return to South Korea and stated that he would cooperate sincerely with the investigation, even indicating his willingness to forgo appearing at the pre-trial detention hearing (warrant review) by the prosecution.

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