Prosecutors tracking secret properties of former Daewoo head

The investigation into alleged illegal financing by the Daewoo Group showed signs of being drawn out over a long period as prosecutors were finding it difficult to summon former chairman Kim Woo-Choong for questioning and track down his secret funds. Kim is currently staying overseas in self-imposed exile.

The Supreme Public Prosecutor¡¯s Office (SPPO), which is investigating the case, said Monday that they obtained clues that Kim created slush funds worth several trillion won through sales of affiliated companies and overseas loans since 1997 and are now working to uncover his secret properties in Korea. The SPPO plans to seize all of his properties after a trial.

Prosecutors called in former and incumbent Daewoo executives who were close to him and are questioning them to discover whether the Daewoo founder is secretly hoarding assets in Korea other than the 1.3 trillion won in properties he mortgaged when Daewoo Corp. went under debt workout program in 1998. The 1.3 trillion won in properties included 51.42 million shares of affiliated companies and forests and fields commanding 129,000 pyong (worth 45.2 billion won) in Koje Island, South Kyongsang Province. Among the executives summoned so far were Lee Dong-Won, former vice president of Daewoo Corp. who virtually managed the British Financial Center (BFC), a secret financing organization for the group in Britain, and Lee Sang-Hoon, former executive director of Daewoo Corp.

However, prosecutors expect that it will take a considerable amount of time to uncover the bank accounts containing Kim¡¯s slush funds with Kim unavailable for questioning at the moment and all the executives repeatedly stating that as far as Daewoo funds were concerned, Kim was the only person who knew the whole picture. To make things worse, some $20 billion in 30 BFC accounts was stashed overseas, they said.