A key aide to the late South Korean shipping tycoon blamed for April’s deadly ferry sinking was indicted Friday on charges of embezzlement, prosecutors said.
Kim Hye-kyung has been investigated by prosecutors for her alleged role in a series of irregularities believed to have contributed to the sinking of the ferry Sewol in April that left more than 300 people dead or missing.
The 52-year-old is known as the “vault keeper” of the late tycoon, Yoo Byung-eun, who owned Chonghaejin Marine Co., the operator of the Sewol. She is also the head of Korea Pharmaceuticals, an affiliate of the business empire built by Yoo.
The prosecution office in this western port city charged Kim with embezzling 6.1 billion won (US$5.9 million) from her company and a religious sect affiliated with the shipping company, and evading 500 million won in taxes.
Charges against Kim also include breach of duty, prosecutors said, adding that they will continue investigating Kim to discover more assets of the late tycoon hidden under borrowed names.
During questioning by prosecutors, Kim denied most of the charges against her, claiming that she had accumulated the assets through investment, according to prosecution sources.
Kim entered the U.S. in March on a 90-day visa waiver program and had since been holed up there, overstaying her visa as she was wanted by South Korean authorities in connection with the April 16 disaster.
She was arrested in Virginia in early September by officials of the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations on charges of violating the immigration law and was later put on a Korean Air flight bound for South Korea.
Upon arrival in her home country on Oct. 7, she was immediately arrested by Seoul prosecutors. (Yonhap)
