SEOUL– Prosecutors sought an arrest warrant Tuesday for the owner of an asset management firm at the center of a high-profile development corruption scandal.
Kim Man-bae, the largest shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, is under suspicion of concealing criminal proceeds worth 34 billion won (US$26.8 million) from the lucrative urban development project from October 2021 to November 2022, according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office.
The charges against the former journalist also include destruction of evidence by ordering his aide to hide checks following the court’s order for forfeiture and to destroy his mobile phone amid the prosecution investigation.
Kim was indicted and arrested in 2021 on multiple charges, including breach of trust and embezzlement in connection with the case, but was released last November after the period of his detention expired.
After freezing about 80 billion won worth of assets owned by Kim and other suspects in the scandal, prosecutors have been tracing their hidden assets.
In the process, Kim attempted suicide but his injuries were not life-threatening.
The scandal centers around allegations that the previously unheard-of asset management company and its affiliates were chosen as private partners for the project in Daejang-dong in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, in 2015, and were allowed to reap huge investment profits.
The project was launched when Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, was mayor of Seongnam. The investigation now is heading toward the end as prosecutors are reportedly mulling over whether to seek an arrest warrant for Lee, who already underwent questioning.
Source: Yonhap News Agency