Former KDB chief’s home, office raided in DSME probe

[THE INVESTOR] Kang Man-soo, former head of Korea Development Bank, has come under scrutiny in the expanding Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering probe, with the prosecution raiding his home and office on Aug. 2.

Kang, a former finance minister and former presidential advisor, is one of the closest aides of former President Lee Myung-bak.

According to reports, the prosecution believes that Kang was involved in the wrongdoings of two former DSME CEOs -- Nam Sang-tae and Ko Jae-ho -- who have been indicted on a range of corruption charges.

Kang headed KDB from 2011 to 2013, which coincides with Ko and Nam’s terms at CEOs of DSME.

Kang is suspected of having been involved in the two former DSME CEOs convincing the KDB, which is the shipbuilder’s parent company, to pay out massive bonuses. The shipbuilder’s former executives have been accused of manipulating the account books to receive bonuses, and to hide snowballing losses.

The prosecution also raided two companies unrelated to DSME on Aug. 1 in connection with the case. The two companies are said to be linked to Kang.

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