Ssangbangwool Kim Seong-tae’s ‘Safe Keeper’ entered the country… Silence on the question of ‘Lee Jae-myeong suspicion’

input2023.02.11 09:15
correction2023.02.11 09:51

Kim Seong-tae, former chairman of Ssangbangul Group’s safekeeping and brother-in-law, and former head of financial affairs at Ssangbangwool Group, Mr. Kim, is entering the country. Photo = Yonhap News

Mr. Kim, former head of Ssangbangwool Group’s finance and finance headquarters, known as the vault keeper of former Ssangbangwool Group chairman Kim Seong-tae, arrived at Incheon International Airport on the 11th.

Mr. Kim, former chairman Kim’s brother-in-law, departed from Thailand and arrived at Incheon International Airport at 8:30 am on the same day. He was consistent in answering questions from reporters asking questions such as ‘whether any of the funds he was managing went to the North’, ‘CEO Lee Jae-myeong’s case of paying attorney fees’, and ‘the cost of remittance to North Korea’.

Prosecutors plan to investigate Mr. Kim on charges of violating the Capital Market Act. In December of last year, Mr. Kim was caught by the local police on charges of violating the Immigration Control Act (illegal stay) in Thailand. At the time, Mr. Kim filed a lawsuit to refuse repatriation to Korea, but when former chairman Kim was arrested, he expressed his intention to return.

Mr. Kim is considered a key man who can specifically reveal former Chairman Kim’s allegations of embezzlement and breach of trust, violation of the Capital Markets Act, and violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act in remittances to North Korea. If former Chairman Kim designed the entire process of issuing convertible bonds (CB) for Ssangbangwool Group affiliates, Mr. Kim is the one who put it into practice. Former Chairman Kim is also known to have made statements to the same effect during the prosecution’s investigation.

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Prosecutors are also planning to uncover the process of forming funds, including the $8 million that former chairman Kim handed over to North Korea for the visit of North Korean smart farm support staff and Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung. The allegation that Lee paid 2 billion won in attorney fees when he was investigated and tried for violating the election law is also subject to verification. Prosecutors expect Kim’s testimony to be the key in this process.

Oh Se-seong, Hankyung.com reporter [email protected]