Prosecutors have found that Kim Man-bae (57), a major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, remitted an additional 100 million won to an executive-level reporter at the JoongAng Ilbo.
According to the legal community on the 11th, the 1st and 3rd divisions of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office's anti-corruption investigation (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-joon and Kang Baek-shin) found that Kim sent 100 million won to a bank account in the name of JoongAng Ilbo executive A's in June 2020.
In the meantime, the money transaction between Mr. A and Mr. Kim was known to be 90 million won, but 100 million won more was revealed.
Mr. A explained that this 90 million won was returned in 2019 by adding interest to the 80 million won he lent to Mr. Kim.
Mr. A did not respond to the nature or use of the additional 100 million won that was revealed.
Prosecutors are said to have discovered the transaction while tracking the whereabouts of a loan of 47.3 billion won that Kim borrowed from Cheonhwa-dongin No. 1, a private developer of Daejang-dong.
Prosecutors are known to look into these money transactions to see if they are in return.
On the 11th, Mr. A resigned, saying, “I can no longer burden the company and feel moral responsibility,” and the JoongAng Ilbo accepted the resignation.
The JoongAng Ilbo was scheduled to hold a personnel committee on the 12th to decide whether to take disciplinary action regarding the financial transaction between Mr. A and Mr. Kim.