A member of LG family on Interpol wanted list

Koo Bon-hyun, a nephew of LG Group’s Honorary Chairman Koo Cha-kyung, was recently added to Interpol’s red notice list over stock manipulation and embezzlement allegations, Korean police said Wednesday.

An Interpol red notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action. A red notice is the most serious of Interpol’s eight notices, and is published by Interpol at the request of a member country.

A spokesperson at the Korean police force said local authorities submitted documents to Interpol detailing the younger Koo’s allegations, which convinced Interpol that the charges were serious enough to be added to their red notice list. According to a source in the prosecution, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office asked Interpol to add him to their red list on May 27 and nullified his passport.

Korean authorities lost track of Koo, 51, after he fled the country late last year for the Netherlands. Police said they have no idea where he currently is. Koo’s father is Koo Ja-geuk, the chairman of EXA E&C, a Seoul-based electronic parts manufacturer and construction company. Koo Jae-geuk is the youngest brother of Koo Cha-kyung, the honorary chairman of LG Group.

According to prosecutors, Koo Bon-hyun allegedly pocketed illegal profits of 14.5 billion won ($12.2 million) by pumping up stock prices through posting false information about two companies he acquired earlier without capital, convincing others to buy stock in the companies. Koo was said to have embezzled 22.7 billion won separately through other means.

Three suspects believed to have been Koo’s accomplices are currently undergoing trial in Korea.

BY KIM MIN-WOOK, LEE HOO-YEON [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]