A former executive of Hankook Ilbo, who was under investigation for financial transactions with Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, was found dead.
Hwacheon Daeyu is a S. Korean asset management company that gained widespread attention due to its involvement in a high-profile real estate development project and a subsequent corruption scandal. The company was at the center of the Daejang-dong development project in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, a large-scale residential and commercial development.
According to industry insiders, the former executive of Hankook Ilbo, identified as A, was discovered deceased on a hill in Danyang County, Chungcheongbuk-do, around 8 p.m. on Jun. 29.
The police received a missing person report from A’s brother around 6 p.m. on June 29. They tracked his mobile phone’s location and subsequently found him.
Previously, A had borrowed 100 million won ($72,396) from Kim Man-bae in May 2020 for the purpose of purchasing a house. This financial dealing led to his dismissal in January last year. In response, A filed a lawsuit against his dismissal, claiming it was a “standard private loan agreement between individuals,” but he lost the first trial held on Jun. 14.
Currently, the prosecution is investigating A for allegedly receiving money from Mr. Kim. It is suspected that A accepted money from Kim in return for writing favorable articles about the Daejang-dong project or preventing the publication of unfavorable ones. On Apr. 18, the prosecution conducted a search and seizure operation targeting A and two other former media executives.
