Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
Lock & Lock founder accused of bribing Vietnam officials
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Lock & Lock founder Kim Joon-il / Korea Times file
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Lock & Lock founder and former Chairman Kim Joon-il has been accused of providing cash and entertainment to government officials in Vietnam in a bid to gain business favors.
According to leaked internal documents obtained by JTBC, the General Department of Vietnam Customs imposed a total of 2.56 billion won ($2.25 million) on Lock & Lock Vietnam in October 2014 for selling exportable products on the local market.
However, the subsidiary reported that it cut down taxes to 400 million won and spent 140 million won as business expenses.
Kim Yong-hee, then financial officer of Lock & Lock Southeast Asia Region, revealed that founder Kim had ordered to pay the officials to avoid paying higher taxes.
He also claimed that Lock & Lock Vietnam Corporate had spent a total of $1.8 billion on illegal lobbying from 2013 to 2017.
Kim described Lock & Lock founder as a “man who sought unfair business advantages by illegal lobbying.”
The Vietnam subsidiary confirmed that the leaked documents belong to the firm.
Meanwhile, founder Kim is also in the hot seat over buying land in Vietnam with a borrowed name to conceal its ownership.
Such suspicions stem from the company's expansion into Vietnam. Founder Kim sold off the food container brand to Hong Kong-based private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners for 629.3 billion won ($584.6 million) in August 2017.
As a specialist in leak-proof plastic food containers with a patented four-sided interlocking system, Kim's business grew into a global company, making it one of the top three food storage makers in the world.
It has expanded into a range of kitchenware as well as containers made of ceramic, glass and stainless steel.
There are growing questions about whether Lock & Lock headquarters were aware of the suspicious payments.
“We are looking into the matter after becoming aware of the alleged incident,” an official at Lock & Lock said.
In 2018, Lock & Lock posted a 36.5 billion won operating profit, down 29.2 percent from 2017.