Ex-baseball Star Named Suspect in Family’s Disappearance

Seoul police yesterday named former baseball star Lee Ho-seong a key suspect in the disappearance of a family last month.

In a morning briefing, police released Lee’s mug shot and identification and offered a reward of three million won for tips leading to his capture.

“We decided to make the investigation public since all four members of the family are missing and 22 days have passed since their disappearance was reported,” a spokesman said. “The suspect is also a well-known ex-baseball player.”

Police confirmed that one of the missing four, a 46-year-old woman identified only as “Kim,” was to pay 170 million won to rent an apartment on Feb. 20, but that the amount was withdrawn from her bank account on Feb. 15.

After confirming that the suspect recently talked to his brother via cell phone, police reviewed Lee’s cell phone records. A search was also begun in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, where Lee was often said to have gone to virtual horse racing arcades.

A graduate of Yonsei University, Lee enjoyed a successful pro baseball career. He won the Golden Glove award as an outfielder twice in the 1990s with the Haitai (now Kia) Tigers.

After retiring in 2001, he made a fortune by running a wedding reception hall in his hometown of Gwangju. He later set up branches in Mokpo and Suncheon.

With his business flagging from 2003, however, he built a commercial-resident building in Suncheon by gathering four billion won from investors.

Though he received a permit from the Korea Racing Authority to run a virtual horse racing arcade in October 2003, the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry delayed approval due to resistance from civic organizations. He ended up defaulting on debts reaching 10 billion won in July 2004.

Lee later served two months in prison for investment fraud in the project to build a new administrative city in the central region.

One of his acquaintances said, “His greed triggered his downfall. I heard he even sought investment from a gangster.”

hyejin@donga.com