A female aide of the late owner of the Sewol ferry was arrested Monday on corruption charges believed to be related to the ship’s sinking in April, hours after she was deported from the U.S.
Persecutors investigating the series of wrongdoings by Sewol owner Yoo Byung-eun and his associates nabbed Kim Hea-kyung immediately after her arrival at Incheon International Airport at 4:30 p.m. The 52-year-old businesswoman was accompanied by a U.S. Homeland Security Investigations official, who handed her over to the local authorities.
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| Kim Hea-kyung, a close confidant of Sewol owner Yoo Byung-eun arrives at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday. (Yonhap) |
The prosecutors are expected to investigate her over allegedly embezzling $23 million from the religious sect affiliated with the Sewol’s operator, Chonghaejin Marine Co.
In the wake of the Sewol accident, the prosecution had summoned her for questioning over her alleged role in the series of wrongdoings that led to the deadly sinking that left over 300 dead or missing.
After she repeatedly ignored the summons, investigators requested for Interpol to locate her along with other members of the Yoo family who had fled overseas. Yoo’s daughter Som-na is fighting extradition in Paris while his second son Hyuk-ki is currently on the run.
Last month, Kim was arrested in Virginia for violating immigration law, and had been held there in custody until Monday. Her return to Korea was confirmed after she decided not to contest the deportation in court.
Kim, the chief of Hankook Pharm, is reportedly a major stakeholder in several key units of Chonghaejin Marine Co. Prosecutors believe that she managed most of the hidden assets of the owner family, leading them to suspect that she has stashed away more money than previously reported.
With Kim in custody, Korean authorities are expected to step up their efforts to trace hidden assets of Yoo and his family. Before his death, Yoo reportedly said multiple times that “if Kim talks, that’s it for all of us,” leading authorities to believe Kim’s testimony holds the key to finding Yoo’s remaining fortune.
But some experts said that Kim may have taken advantage of her time on the run to take precautionary measures to ensure that the authorities are unable to seize her illegal properties. Lee Chong-hwa, a professor at Korean National Police University and a former Interpol official, told local media that it would be difficult to obtain solid evidence of Kim’s crimes because she managed mostly cash.
By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)
