Daewoo, Booyoung raided over corruption
By Lee Kyung-min
Police searched Daewoo Engineering & Construction (E&C), Tuesday, over an allegation it offered money and valuables to a group of figures who had great influence in selecting which builders get to remodel apartments in southern Seoul, in return for landing construction work. The prosecution raided Booyoung Group over alleged tax evasion, creating billions of won (millions of dollars) in slush funds and giving undue business favors to its affiliates.
Officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency raided Daewoo E&C headquarters in Jongno and its district office in Gangnam, Seoul, to secure documents and computer hard disks. The raid came amid intensified police investigation into major builders over irregularities in winning construction work in the Gangnam area in southern Seoul and adjacent Gangdong-gu. Police already searched the homes and offices of a number of officials that had business dealings with major construction companies and confiscated accounting books and documents specifying financial transactions.
Investigators from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office searched Booyoung headquarters in Junggu, to seize documents and accounting books as well as computer hard disks. The investigation came about nine months after the National Tax Service (NTS) filed the complaint with the prosecution last April over suspected tax evasion of billions of won, following its internal tax audit into the scandal-ridden company.
Booyoung was earlier implicated in an influence-peddling scandal involving Choi Soon-sil, the longtime friend of former President Park Geun-hye, which removed her from office. An official from K-Sports, one of the two foundations set up and controlled by Choi alongside Mir, asked the group chairman Lee Joong-keun to give money to the foundation, but he withdrew the request after Lee demanded that tax officials stop conducting an audit into the firm in return. Prosecutors are looking into Lee over suspicion that he used part of 270 billion won ($ 250 million) the firm transferred to the company’s overseas unit in Cambodia to create a slush fund.
The prosecution recently imposed a travel ban on Lee, after reviewing financial transactions made by those close to him, suspecting that he had numerous bank accounts opened under their names to avoid paying large amounts of tax. Prosecution investigation into the firm had been long stalled due to other higher-profile corruption cases but recently picked up speed as a district court sentencing on key figures in the influence-peddling scandal including Park will be held next month.