ID :
184314
Wed, 05/25/2011 - 12:01
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/184314
The shortlink copeid
Prosecution seeks arrest warrant for Orion chairman
(ATTN: CORRECTS founder's name in 2nd para, ADDS details in last 4 paras)
SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors sought an arrest warrant for the chairman of Orion Group Wednesday on charges of ordering executives of the confectionery and media group to create slush funds and pocketing the money.
Tam Cheol-gon, a son-in-law of the late Orion founder Lee Yang-gu, is suspected of creating a total of some 10 billion won (US$9.2 million) in slush funds and exploiting the money for personal purposes, according to prosecutors from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.
Investigators said Tam's close confidant and subordinate, surnamed Cho, raised the funds in the process of selling land owned by the group for constructing a luxury apartment in southern Seoul at a below-market price and by falsifying a payroll report. Cho, who has already been arrested and indicted on charges of embezzlement, delivered the money to Tam and his wife, Lee Hwa-kyung, who is also a top executive of the group, they said.
Tam is also charged with incurring a loss to one of his group's affiliates by having the company lease luxury sports cars and using them for personal purposes, the investigators said.
Prosecutors suspect Tam used part of the corporate funds to buy about 10 expensive paintings found at his home, which prosecutors raided on May 16.
Tam, however, pleaded not guilty to most of the charges, they added. Tam was summoned to the prosecution on Monday, a week after the raid, and interrogated for more than 19 hours.
Prosecutors said that they will soon summon Tam's wife, Lee, to question her over her role in creating slush funds. She is the second daughter of the late founder and the biggest shareholder of the group's holding company, Orion Corp.
Also on Wednesday, prosecutors arrested and indicted the president of a Seoul gallery, Hong Song-won, who allegedly helped the group chairman launder part of the slush funds via falsified records of artwork transactions.
Investigators said that they will further determine the exact amount of the illicit funds and where the chairman used the money.
brk@yna.co.kr
SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors sought an arrest warrant for the chairman of Orion Group Wednesday on charges of ordering executives of the confectionery and media group to create slush funds and pocketing the money.
Tam Cheol-gon, a son-in-law of the late Orion founder Lee Yang-gu, is suspected of creating a total of some 10 billion won (US$9.2 million) in slush funds and exploiting the money for personal purposes, according to prosecutors from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.
Investigators said Tam's close confidant and subordinate, surnamed Cho, raised the funds in the process of selling land owned by the group for constructing a luxury apartment in southern Seoul at a below-market price and by falsifying a payroll report. Cho, who has already been arrested and indicted on charges of embezzlement, delivered the money to Tam and his wife, Lee Hwa-kyung, who is also a top executive of the group, they said.
Tam is also charged with incurring a loss to one of his group's affiliates by having the company lease luxury sports cars and using them for personal purposes, the investigators said.
Prosecutors suspect Tam used part of the corporate funds to buy about 10 expensive paintings found at his home, which prosecutors raided on May 16.
Tam, however, pleaded not guilty to most of the charges, they added. Tam was summoned to the prosecution on Monday, a week after the raid, and interrogated for more than 19 hours.
Prosecutors said that they will soon summon Tam's wife, Lee, to question her over her role in creating slush funds. She is the second daughter of the late founder and the biggest shareholder of the group's holding company, Orion Corp.
Also on Wednesday, prosecutors arrested and indicted the president of a Seoul gallery, Hong Song-won, who allegedly helped the group chairman launder part of the slush funds via falsified records of artwork transactions.
Investigators said that they will further determine the exact amount of the illicit funds and where the chairman used the money.
brk@yna.co.kr
