SK Corp., a holding company of SK Group, headquartered in Seorin-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Hankyoreh material photo
On the 5th, the prosecution prosecuted the arrest of Shin-won Shin (68), chairman of SK Networks, who is accused of embezzlement and dismissal of 200 billion units. The prosecution also conducted a seizure and search for the headquarters of SK Group, the holding company of SK Networks. The Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, Department of Anti-Corruption Investigation 1 (Director Jun-cheol Jeon), handed over Chairman Choi to trial on charges of embezzlement or appointment (violation of the Act on Specific Economic Criminal Weighted Penalties, etc.) and violation of the Capital Markets Act. The prosecution believes that Chairman Choi embezzled or assigned funds from six companies he operated in the name of promoting the individual golf course business, paying the price for individual capital increase, and supporting funds for insolvent affiliates. From 2009 to 2018, Chairman Choi’s embezzlement and malpractice estimated by the prosecution amounted to 2235 billion won. There are 11 charges that Chairman Choi receives. In April 2009, Chairman Choi’s private company, Gamgok Development, received 15.5 billion won in unsecured loan from SK Telesys and promoted (assigned) a golf course development project, or in September 2012 withdrew 16.4 billion won from Telesis without accounting. It is a charge of using (embezzlement) for the payment of a paid-in capital increase, etc. In addition, in October 2012, Telesys issued a bond (BW) worth 27.5 billion won. Between 2011 and 2015, when SK Telesys faced a bankruptcy crisis, there was also a charge that SKC, the chairman of the company, had to participate in the telesis capital increase worth 93.6 billion won. At the time, SKC’s board of directors requested Telesys’ management team, but Chairman Choi rejected it. In addition, Chairman Choi is also accused of falsely registering his family and relatives as employees of six companies, including SK Networks, from 2003 to November of last year, and falsely paying 23.2 billion won worth of salary. The charges for handling the 7.2 billion won in hotel villas owned by SK Networks, which were personally written by Chairman Choi and his son, were also included (embezzlement). On this day, the prosecution conducted a seizure and search of the SK headquarters office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, a group holding company in connection with the case of Chairman Choi. Although some observers say that the investigation of Chairman Choi’s slush fund case is going up to the line of SK Chairman Choi Tae-won, the prosecution explained that the current chairman Tae-won Choi was not arrested or included in the subject of seizure and search. A prosecution official said, “In relation to some of the charges against which Chairman Shin-won Choi was prosecuted, there was a part to additionally confirm the decision-making process with the management of other affiliates, such as the group holding company, and the seizure and search proceeded.” Chairman Shin Shin-won is the cousin of Chairman Tae-won Choi and the second son of SK Group founder Choi Jong-gun, chairman of Sunkyung Group. Chairman Choi served as SKC President from 2000 to 2015, and from 2004 to 2015, Chairman of SK Networks. By Jang Ye-ji, staff reporter [email protected]