'Wage Arrears' Kim Yong-bin, Chairman of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Construction, Arrest Warrant Dismissed

"There is room to dispute responsibility for unpaid wages"

Kim Yong-bin, chairman of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Construction and Korea Technology (51), faced arrest on charges of withholding 2.7 billion KRW in wages from workers just one month after being released on bail, but he avoided detention.

On the 17th, Judge Kim Ji-sook, in charge of warrants at the Seoul Southern District Court, held a pre-arrest hearing for Kim on the previous afternoon regarding violations of the Labor Standards Act and other charges, and dismissed the arrest warrant. Kim was previously detained and indicted in April on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act and embezzlement and breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, but was released last month after his bail request was granted.

Judge Kim stated the reason for dismissal, saying, "There is room to dispute responsibility for unpaid wages, so the guarantee of the opportunity to defend is necessary, and it is difficult to see any concern that evidence will be deliberately destroyed or that there is a flight risk."

According to the prosecution, Kim is accused of failing to pay 2.7 billion KRW in wages and retirement benefits to company employees. Considering the seriousness of the case, with unpaid wages amounting to 2.7 billion KRW and the affected workers still suffering severe hardship, as well as Kim’s private use of company funds during the wage arrears period, the prosecution requested an arrest warrant on the 12th, just one month after Kim’s release.

Kim appeared in front of the court the previous afternoon and headed to the courtroom without responding to questions such as, "What is your position on the reapplication of the warrant just one month after bail?" and "Do you admit to the wage arrears charges?"

Kim is currently on trial for allegedly raising 28.5 billion KRW in illicit gains by issuing a fictitious paid-in capital increase using private loans to avoid Korea Corporation’s designation as a management-specified stock in December 2018, and inflating stock prices through false disclosures while entering the bio-business sector. Along with Korea Corporation CEO Mr. A, he is also accused of causing approximately 21.1 billion KRW in damages by having Korea Corporation purchase worthless unlisted company stocks at inflated prices to artificially boost the value of the bio-business used to support the stock price.

Despite Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Construction being unable to pay employee salaries, Kim is also accused of embezzling 400 million KRW of corporate funds. Kim and others are charged with purchasing luxury goods using corporate cards, privately using a Porsche leased under the company’s name, and providing joint guarantees for 5 billion KRW in private loans unrelated to Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Construction.

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