Kim Sang-jin Forged Information on Loan Applications

Busan developer Kim Sang-jin (photo) successfully applied for a $265 billion loan to allegedly finance his Yeonsan-Dong redevelopment project. It transpired that he had forged application documents and the information on them to get the loan, including his educational credentials.

Grand National Party lawmaker Kim Ae-sil confirmed the fact yesterday. According to the report submitted to Rep. Kim by Woori Bank, Kim Sang-jin identified himself as a Class of 1990 Sogang University graduate with B.S. in business administration.

He also marked himself as Sogang graduate on the loan application filed with Kookmin Bank.

Rep. Kim checked Kim Sang-jin’s alumni status with the university, and found out that he never attended the school at all.

One of the most prestigious schools in Korea, Sogang University officially confirmed that Kim Sang-jin had never been part of the school or enrolled in any program offered by the school, according to Rep. Kim.

Rep. Kim believes, “Kim’s company had no business history with the two banks. But he needed money to finance his redevelopment project. Thus, he must have forged the information to get the money.”

A senior bank officer explained, “When a bank considers whether to make a loan to a new corporate customer, it considers as decisive factors the credentials of the corporate CEO, along with the plausibility and profitability of the particular project at issue.”

Woori Bank’s internal assessment document depicts Kim Sang-jin as graduate of Sogang University and seasoned construction CEO with 9-year experience. But Kim also provided the wrong information on high school diploma.

On the documents filed with the banks, Kim listed himself as a Masan High School graduate. Kim, however, actually graduated from Masan Vocational High School.

Submitting a business proposal to the Korea Veterans Association to entice its investment, Kim wrote down the true information. He marked himself as Masan Vocational graduate and did not mention Sogan University.

Within two weeks of receipt of the proposal, the association invested in Kim Sang-jin’s project an astronomical amount of $94 million, which was more than nine times larger than the amount Kim actually asked for. The prosecutors are looking into the investment deal to see why the association made such a quick and bold investment. The prosecution suspects that some powerful figure must have pulled the strings for Kim.

Rep. Kim concluded, “Kim provided the association with the true information, since he knew that he would get the loan through connections. Otherwise, he knowingly forged his credentials.”

sunshade@donga.com