By Yi Whan-woo
Investigators raided the home of Himart CEO Seon Jong-koo and the offices of the country’s largest electronics retailer Saturday over alleged embezzlement and evasion of tax.
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said they searched the headquarters of Himart in Gangnam, southern Seoul, and its other offices, to obtain accounting books and hard disks in search of possible evidence.
The investigation is based on a report by the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit, which monitors money laundering and financial scams at local companies.
The prosecution said it suspects that Seon, 65, has moved assets abroad without reporting this to authorities and also dodged tax, with support from his aides.
Prosecutors said the investigation will center on Seon’s personal fraud and will not target Eugene Corp., a construction company and the largest shareholder of Himart.
There is also no indication that politicians or bureaucrats were bribed, they said.
Seon, the second largest shareholder, founded the company in 1999 after merging with the domestic sales division of Daewoo Electronics, a former affiliate of the Daewoo Group. Seon himself worked for Daewoo Electronics.
Eugene Corp. bought Himart in December 2007 and has a 31 percent stake, while Seon has a 28 percent share and the remainder is owned by financial and individual investors.
Seon and Yoo Kyun-seon, CEO of Eugne Corp. have feuded over the rights to manage Himart since Yoo took over the electronics retailer.
Himart has about 300 stores across the country and marked sales of 3.4 trillion won for a net profit of 139 billion won last year.