Execs from failed banks will be sued

A series of lawsuits will be filed against retired executives of insolvent financial institutions where the government poured public funds after the outbreak of the foreign exchange crisis nearly three years ago.

The Deposit Insurance Corp. announced Sunday that it would file civil lawsuits against 1,334 executives of 116 shut-down financial institutions, including securities firms and life insurance companies, on charges of violating laws.

DIC officials said that most of the executives whose illegal acts were discovered would be included and that the lawsuits would demand compensation totaling 1.003 trillion won.

Kwon Soon-Hwal shkwon@donga.com