Dept. Store Ransacked on Embezzlement Allegation

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office raided the headquarters of Grand Department Store Inc. in Deungchon-dong in southwestern Seoul and homes of company executives Tuesday on suspicions of embezzlement.

Prosecutors seized box loads of documents in an hours-long raid that started at 11 a.m. on the same day and are now analyzing them.

The prosecution reportedly launched the search operation to confirm allegations that the management misappropriated company funds.

Grand Department Store Inc., set up in 1979 and listed in KOSDAQ in 1993, runs department stores and discount shops. The company’s main shareholders are a firm, identified only by capital letter J, which owns 20.1 percent of the share, and the chairman, identified only by his surname Kim, with 6.6 percent of the share.

needjung@donga.com