Biz leader grilled over alleged abuse of employee

By Kang Seung-woo

Song Myeong-bin, the CEO of Marker Group who is suspected of abusing an employee for years, was questioned over the allegation, Thursday.

Song Myung-bin

The 51-year-old, famous for introducing the “right to be forgotten” on the internet in Korea in 2015, appeared for questioning at the Gangseo Police Station in western Seoul as a suspect on suspicions of habitual assault, blackmail and violation of the Labor Standards Act.

Last November, an employee surnamed Yang filed a complaint with the police, claiming Song had attacked him with an iron pipe, shoehorn and wooden bar over the course of three years from 2016 to 2018.

“I apologized for causing trouble. I will fully cooperate with investigators,” Song told reporters ahead of the questioning.

However, he declined to comment on whether he will admit to the assault charge or why he assaulted his employee, and instead made a counterclaim against him.

About a month after Yang's complaint with the police, Song's misconduct was made public last week as a video clip showed the CEO beat Yang on the head, along with a voice-recording file, in which the CEO threatened to kill the employee and his family by hiring a hitman.

However, Song claimed that Yang ran away to the Philippines while his company was inspecting him for breach of trust and embezzlement. He also filed a complaint with the prosecution against Yang over the charges.

In 2013, Song acquired a patent for a digital aging system that attaches an “aging timer” to digital data and has data disappear without a trace after the pre-arranged expiration date.

He also serves as a professor at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul.