Prosecutors question SK Group vice chairman in embezzlement case

Public prosecutors investigating alleged embezzlement at SK Group summoned the group’s vice chairman Chey Jae-won on Thursday.

Chey is the younger brother of SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won, who is also under investigation. Prosecutors are said to be considering summoning Chey Tae-won at a later date.

The younger Chey is suspected of having taken a direct hand in embezzling a part of the 280 billion won ($254 million) SK Group firms invested in the financial firm Benex Investment. 

Benex Investment is owned by former SK Telecom executive Kim Jun-hong, who was taken into custody on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust late last month.

Kim is accused of embezzling about 100 billion won of SK Group’s investment, part of which was then used by the Cheys to invest in futures.

So far the prosecutors have found that 99.2 billion won of the 280 billion won fund was transferred to Kim Won-hong, who was in charge of Chey Tae-won’s investment in futures that brought losses of up to 300 billion won.

An SK Group official said that the group has no official position on the matter, but said that Chey’s summons will hopefully result in resolving “misunderstandings” surrounding the case.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)