The late Park Yong-oh |
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Park Yong-oh, a South Korean industrialist who once led the Doosan Group, the country's oldest conglomerate, has been found dead in an apparent suicide, police said.
The body of the 72-year-old was found by a maid in a dressing room at his house in Seongbukdong, northern Seoul, Wednesday. He was declared dead at the nearby Seoul National University Medical Center at around 8:30 a.m.
The older Park had bruising and rope marks on his neck when his body was brought to the hospital around 8 a.m., police said, and it is believed that he was already dead when doctors attempted cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on him.
The police found a suicide note at Park's house.
"The cause of his death is under investigation by the police and hospital, and we have no specific information to share at this point," Kim Byeong-soo, Doosan Vice President, told reporters at the hospital earlier in the day.
"It has been a long time since Park was involved in Doosan's management, so we don't have any detailed information about his recent health status."
Doosan is one of Korea's largest conglomerates, with key subsidiaries, including Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction, the country's largest power-equipment maker and a global provider of nuclear power plants, and Doosan Infracore, a major construction equipment maker. The group also has separate units involved in clothes, food and real estate.
Park became one of the more influential business leaders after taking over the management helm at Doosan as chairman in 1996.
However, he was ousted from the group in 2005, following a highly-publicized family feud with his brother, Yong-sung, over the group's management control and wealth.
The older Park then filed a complaint to prosecutors accusing his brother of creating a slush fund from embezzling corporate wealth and accounting fraud, touching off a corruption scandal that had Doosan reeling for years.
Both brothers were convicted of embezzlement in 2007, with Yong-oh sentenced to a suspended three-year jail term and Yong-sung forced to resign as the group chairman.
Yong-sung has since reclaimed a spot in the group's upper management, currently serving as chairman of Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction, seen as the crown jewel of the corporate empire. The chairman post is now taken by another Park brother, the 66-year-old Yong-hyun.
All of the Park brothers, including Doosan honorary chairman, Yong-gon, the oldest remaining member of the group's founding family, gathered at the hospital, with Yong-sung, who is now also the president of the Korean Olympic Committee, cutting a visit to China short to arrive at the hospital around 10 p.m.
After his bitter departure from Doosan, the older Park spent around 73 billion won to acquire a controlling share and the management rights of Sungjee Construction last year, and made himself chairman of the company.
However, Sungjee, which specializes in small apartments and office units, is struggling to keep afloat amid the recent economic turmoil, reporting a net loss of more than 4.3 billion won during the first two quarters of the year.
Troubles continued in Park's personal life as well, with his son, Jung-won, being convicted for stock manipulation last year after prosecutors exposed irregularities in his purchasing of 1.3 million shares of New Wall Corp., a tech company that has since been renamed Clustar. Jung-won has been temporarily freed from jail for his father's funeral.
During his days as chairman, Park was credited for helping Doosan ascend as a globally competitive company. He headed several key Doosan units, including Oriental Brewery, the maker of the popular OB Beer, and Doosan Corp., before serving as group chairman between 1996 and 1998.
Park, as with Yong-sung, was also notable for his particular interest in sports, serving as the president of Seoul-based professional baseball team, the OB Bears, now the Doosan Bears. Park also served as the commissioner of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the country's professional baseball league, from 1998 to 2005. The baseball league experienced significant changes under Park's watch, including the adoption of free agency in 1999.
thkim@koreatimes.co.kr
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