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Until the end of us, the panda team told us yesterday (3rd) how former SsangBulle Chairman Kim Seong-Tae raised money and took over SsangBul.
Former chairman Kim, who operated an illegal loan company under a borrowed name and was also punished for manipulating stock prices, turned into an entrepreneur and recruited a large number of former lawyers as outsiders.
Among them was a prosecutor who was in charge of investigating stock manipulation cases.
First, reporter Koh Jung-hyun took a look at the aspects of outside directors.
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Last year, Attorney Kim Mo was inaugurated as an outside director at Vivien, a subsidiary of SsangBulle.
In 2014, he was a prosecutor in the investigation into the stock price manipulation case.
It was said that a lawyer from the prosecution who had been close friends with Kim Seong-tae for a long time provided legal advice to the SsangBul Group.
[Vivian, former outside director (attorney from prosecutor): I thought 'there is no reason not to meet' at the time of opening a lawyer.
That's how the media came out, so I quit.
I've only met that person (Kim Seong-tae) once.]
Until the very end, the Panda Team conducted a full investigation of the outside directors who were appointed to the affiliates of the SsangBul group after former Chairman Kim Seong-tae exercised influence.
A total of 41 people wrote the title of outside director, including 17 lawyers, 11 bureaucrats and politicians, and 2 immediate family members.
Among the lawyers, nine were prosecutors, and one each was a judge and a high-ranking police officer.
Former lawyers who worked at the Ssangbool Group explain their background this way.
[Former outside director of Ssangbool Group (former a lawyer): (Kim Seong-tae appointed a lawyer as an outside director) A lot of things were put up, but was that not to get help in case of any legal risk?
] Executive Director (Former lawyer): I was in the private loan business, and I had a company and grew an organization through a company.
I would have needed a lawyer who was a prosecutor rather than an ordinary lawyer.]
Delay played a major role.
[Current outside director of Ssangbool Group (former a lawyer): Actually, I just got to know each other because of the people in my hometown, so I just did it because they are non-executive.]
[Former outside director of Ssangbool Group (from political circles): (Independent director) Not only me, but also people from the political circles. There are a lot of them, and that’s me, because Jeonbuk is my hometown…
(Kim) I know Seongtae, I.]
There was no way the outside directors recruited in this way could properly monitor the management.
[Former outside director of Ssangbool Group (from political circles): When there is a year-end event like that, you see your face once. What are you going to work for?
What's that (outside director's remuneration)?
That.]
[Current outside director of SsangBul Group (former a lawyer): I got 3 million won, and with that, it helps me to keep the office a little bit and run it.
However, none of them took charge of that case.]
For them, it is a source of income at the level of pocket money or a stepping stone for taking on the case.
There are also outside directors who directly acted as lawyers in the stock price manipulation case of Kim Seong-tae and his family.
The outside director system, which is supposed to monitor management and check the arbitrariness of the owner, has been transformed into a means to benefit from the general courtesy while leaving the elite of the legal and political circles behind.
(Video coverage: Yoo Dong-hyeok·Haryeong, video editing: Kim Kyung-yeon)
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