ONCE AGAIN, Hanwha Group chairman's son caught for drunken rampage; faces arrest
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Kim Dong-sun, right, with his lawyer at Gangnam Police Station in Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap
By Park Si-soo
The third son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn faces arrest after going on a drunken rampage at a luxury bar in southern Seoul on Thursday.
Police said they will seek an arrest warrant for Kim Dong-sun over the incident. The prosecution will soon decide whether to ask the court to issue an arrest warrant for him.
The junior Kim, 27, is a friend of Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of Choi Soon-sil who is at the center of the corruption scandal that led to President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment. Kim and Chung won a gold medal in the team dressage competition at the Incheon Asian Games in 2014.
According to Gangnam Police Station, Kim “slapped bar employees in the face several times for no reason” under the influence of alcohol at 3:30 a.m. Thursday. He was also accused of damaging a police car window and seat covers while being taken to a police station.
“He does not remember what he did because he was totally drunk at that time,” Kim’s lawyer said. “He feels remorse for the case he is involved in.”
Hanwha called the incident a “personal issue.”
The company said Kim and the victims agreed to settle the case. But this did not stop a police investigation. Police said they will view a video clip recorded by a witness at the scene.
This was not Kim’s first drunken rampage. In 2010, he was accused of sexually harassing a female hotel worker and assaulting security guards.
In 2007, Kim’s father was convicted of a “revenge attack” on bar workers who scuffled with his second son, Kim Dong-won. The second son was convicted in 2014 on drug charges.
Born in 1989, the third son graduated from Dartmouth College in the United States and works at Hanwha Engineering and Construction.