Korail, Exploited in an M&A Case

The Board of Audit and Inspection, which is investigating a suspected investment made by Korea Railroad in the Russian Sakhalin petroleum development project, is said to have decided to indict the core members of this incident to the prosecution if they persist on non-attendance.

An official from the Board of Audit said on April 11, “Though we were supposed to investigate core figures of the private sector from this week, which includes Highend’s President Jeon Dae-wol and Korea Crude Oil CEO Huh Moon-seok, they are out of reach,” and added, “If they continue to refuse to appear, we will have no choice but to indict them to the prosecution.”

Article 51 of the Audit and Inspection Code specifies that when the subject of an investigation refuses to appear or produce any necessary evidence, he or she may be sentenced to a year in or a maximum fine of five million won.

The Board of Audit and Inspection is reportedly reviewing legal matters to see whether Huh Moon-seok, who holds U.S. citizenship, may be prosecuted under the code of audit and inspection.

taewon_ha@donga.com