DB Group ex-chairman comes home to face sexual violence allegations

DB Group’s former Chairman Kim Jun-ki is taken by police officers to be questioned about allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment, upon his arrival at Incheon International Airport, Wednesday, after more than two years of staying in the U.S. to avoid an investigation. / Yonhap

By Kim Jae-heun

DB Group's former Chairman Kim Jun-ki returned to Korea, Wednesday, after staying in the U.S. for two years, to face the police investigation into his alleged rape of his housekeeper and sexual harassment of his secretary.

Kim was detained by the police upon arrival at Incheon International Airport from New York early in the morning, and was immediately transferred to the Suseo Police Station in Seoul.

He had notified the police of his arrival date and time through his lawyer, and the police obtained a detention warrant from a local court before his arrival.

Kim appeared in the arrival hall at 3:47 a.m., covering his handcuffed hands with a cloth, and stayed silent when reporters asked whether he admitted to the crimes and why he had been avoiding the police investigation.

As the questions continued, he said, “I'm sorry for causing a stir.” But he added that his apology doesn't mean he admits to any of the allegations and will reveal the truth during questioning.

According to police, Kim's housekeeper filed a complaint with them in January 2018 alleging sexual assault and harassment. She said that the chairman had raped her twice and sexually harassed her multiple times between February 2016 and January 2017 at his vacation home in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province.

She said Kim committed the crimes after watching porn films, and she submitted video clips of him touching her to the police as evidence. Regarding the video recording, the former chairman's lawyers argued that it was “consensual sex” and claimed the housekeeper had tried to blackmail him, threatening to release the recordings if he didn't pay her.

Before this, Kim's former secretary had also accused him in September 2017 of sexually harassing her multiple times between February and July that year.

After stepping down from his position as chairman that year, Kim fled to the U.S. in July saying he needed to get medical treatment there.

Police had demanded Kim return to Korea for questioning three times between October and November 2017, but he ignored the calls and extended his stay there.

In December 2017, police requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to invalidate Kim's passport. As the ministry accepted the request, Kim had been staying in the U.S. as an illegal alien.

Police also requested the assistance of the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO) to bring him back to Seoul. They also sought cooperation with the Ministry of Justice to extradite him from the U.S. about three months ago.

“We have already finished questioning the alleged victims when they sued Kim,” an officer at Suseo Police Station said. “We'll decide whether to seek an arrest warrant after questioning him.”