Park Jin-hai primarily focuses on K-dramas, entertainment shows and actor interviews. Beyond that, she also pens articles covering the broader arts scene, with a particular emphasis on classical music, dance and various aspects of lifestyle. Since joining The Korea Times in 2013, she has made significant contributions in the realms of hallyu (Korean wave), industry news and international affairs.
FSS to start probe on troubled DSME
A Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in Okpo, Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, is seen in this file photo, Sunday. / Korea Times file
By Park Jin-hai
By Park Jin-hai
The nation’s top financial watchdog will begin a massive probe into Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in a bid to find the parties allegedly responsible for committing accounting fraud by hiding billions of dollars in losses.
Officials at the FSS said it found evidence of misconduct by the nation’s top-tier shipbuilder and added that a large-scale probe will make clear whether the company deliberately cooked its books as well as who exactly was in charge of any cover-up.
The financial regulator will begin an audit on the company this month at the earliest as it monitors whether the current and previous management is involved.
The local shipyard posted a record operating loss of 3.03 trillion won or $2.58 billion in the second quarter in its tentative financial report.
“When the second quarter financial report is finalized and the ongoing audit comes to end this month, we will have a clear picture of a future direction to put the company back on track. What remains is fact-finding for the wrongdoing,” said a FSS official.
Creditors including Korea Development Bank are currently conducting audits of DSME’s financial status and discussing plans to normalize the ailing shipyard. The results are expected to be released later this month.
FSS will also consider beginning a probe into its main creditor KDB as the bank earlier said it didn’t know about the shipbuilder’s cooking of the books until the last minute.
As the shipbuilder's chief financial officer (CFO) was a former official at the state bank, the KDB is in the “hot seat,” over its failure to properly supervise the company.
“If DSME’s largest creditor KDB didn’t know about the trouble, it will be ‘negligence of duty,’ while if it did know but turned a blind eye, it will be a ‘dereliction of duty’,” he added.
On a related note, KDB is under discussion to file civil and criminal lawsuits against former CEOs if they are found to have been involved in the case.
“Nothing is decided at the current stage,” said the FSS in a statement.