▲ Kim Seong-tae, former chairman of Ssangbangul Group
Kim Seong-tae, former chairman of Ssangbangul Group.
It was reported on the 10th that former Ssangbangul Group Chairman Kim Seong-tae, a key figure in the ‘Ssangbangul Group corruption allegations’, was arrested in Thailand.
According to the investigative authorities, Chairman Kim, who fled abroad while being investigated by the prosecution for allegedly paying attorney fees, was arrested in Thailand around 7:50 p.m. Previously, the prosecution and the police requested Interpol to issue a red notice for former chairman Kim, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs invalidated former chairman Kim’s passport.
The Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office, which was investigating the suspicion of payment of attorney fees by Lee Jae-myeong, the head of the Democratic Party, seized and searched the headquarters of the Ssangbangwool Group on June 22 last year. However, former chairman Kim left the country earlier on May 31 of last year, and during the investigation, it was revealed that an incumbent prosecutor’s investigator helped former chairman Kim escape by leaking investigation secrets.
Since then, the prosecution continued to investigate allegations of corruption related to Ssangbangwool and handed over those involved in Ssangbangwool one following another on charges of stock price manipulation, illegal remittance to North Korea, and bribery to former Gyeonggi-do governor Lee Hwa-young.
Prosecutors plan to consult immediately with Thai authorities to extradite former chairman Kim to Korea as soon as possible.
Reporter Kwon Yoon-hee