By Kim Da-ye
Yoo Byung-eun, the owner of the sunken ferry Sewol currently on the run from authorities, may be armed with at least two handguns, according to a former aide.
The claim has prompted safety concerns for investigators trying to track him down because it is feared Yoo could resort to violence if confronted by them. Most police officers except for those on serious crime squads don't carry firearms.
"I saw Yoo with two pistols when I worked for him," Lee Cheong, Yoo's former secretary, told a TV program.
Lee once served as the captain of a cruise ship owned by Yoo, but no longer works for him.
"He practiced shooting by placing targets on a concrete wall. He also had an air rifle. I witnessed him shooting magpies and squirrels," Lee said.
A spokesman for the Salvation Sect, allegedly led by Yoo, said that this was groundless.
"I don't think he carries guns. I've never heard of him practicing shooting," he said.
Kwak Dae-gyung, a professor of police administration at Dongguk University, commented in an interview with TV Chosun that the police have prepared themselves against such concerns by arming officers conducting the search for Yoo.
The Korea Times contacted Incheon District Prosecutors' Office to verify Kwak's claim, but the prosecutor who took the call refused to comment.
A serious crime squad officer at the National Police Agency said that police do not have any evidence that Yoo is carrying weapons because the investigation is being supervised by the prosecution.
The prosecution and police increased the amount of reward for tips leading to Yoo and his son's capture last Sunday, but they currently remain at large.
Prosecutors said that Yoo and his eldest son, Yoo Dae-gyun, aren't together any more. They assume that the son is hiding in North Gyeongsang Province, specifically in Daegu.
Yoo's location is now in doubt although observers say he is likely to be not far from Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, where he was hiding until recently. The prosecution and police set up checkpoints around Suncheon, according to Yonhap News.
Prosecutors on Thursday sought an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-oak, chairman of Hemato-Centric Life Foundation, for planning and managing Yoo's escape. He is also suspected of having forced the foundation to buy and sell Yoo's photographic works at unreasonably high prices.
Lee held a press conference on May 18 inside Geumsuwon, a stronghold of the Salvation Sect in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, and said that he believed Yoo was staying inside the compound.
In the meantime, Incheon District Court approved Thursday the prosecution's request to freeze Yoo and his children's assets worth some 240 billion won ($235 million).
The prosecution said on Wednesday that Yoo and his family have embezzled around 240 billion won from various companies. The money will be used to compensate families who lost relatives in the sinking of the ferry Sewol.
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| Yoo Byung-eun |
The claim has prompted safety concerns for investigators trying to track him down because it is feared Yoo could resort to violence if confronted by them. Most police officers except for those on serious crime squads don't carry firearms.
"I saw Yoo with two pistols when I worked for him," Lee Cheong, Yoo's former secretary, told a TV program.
Lee once served as the captain of a cruise ship owned by Yoo, but no longer works for him.
"He practiced shooting by placing targets on a concrete wall. He also had an air rifle. I witnessed him shooting magpies and squirrels," Lee said.
A spokesman for the Salvation Sect, allegedly led by Yoo, said that this was groundless.
"I don't think he carries guns. I've never heard of him practicing shooting," he said.
Kwak Dae-gyung, a professor of police administration at Dongguk University, commented in an interview with TV Chosun that the police have prepared themselves against such concerns by arming officers conducting the search for Yoo.
The Korea Times contacted Incheon District Prosecutors' Office to verify Kwak's claim, but the prosecutor who took the call refused to comment.
A serious crime squad officer at the National Police Agency said that police do not have any evidence that Yoo is carrying weapons because the investigation is being supervised by the prosecution.
The prosecution and police increased the amount of reward for tips leading to Yoo and his son's capture last Sunday, but they currently remain at large.
Prosecutors said that Yoo and his eldest son, Yoo Dae-gyun, aren't together any more. They assume that the son is hiding in North Gyeongsang Province, specifically in Daegu.
Yoo's location is now in doubt although observers say he is likely to be not far from Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, where he was hiding until recently. The prosecution and police set up checkpoints around Suncheon, according to Yonhap News.
Prosecutors on Thursday sought an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-oak, chairman of Hemato-Centric Life Foundation, for planning and managing Yoo's escape. He is also suspected of having forced the foundation to buy and sell Yoo's photographic works at unreasonably high prices.
Lee held a press conference on May 18 inside Geumsuwon, a stronghold of the Salvation Sect in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, and said that he believed Yoo was staying inside the compound.
In the meantime, Incheon District Court approved Thursday the prosecution's request to freeze Yoo and his children's assets worth some 240 billion won ($235 million).
The prosecution said on Wednesday that Yoo and his family have embezzled around 240 billion won from various companies. The money will be used to compensate families who lost relatives in the sinking of the ferry Sewol.
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