Fugitive underwear boss gave Kim Jong-un Hermès saddle, say prosecutors

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Fugitive underwear boss gave Kim Jong-un Hermès saddle, say prosecutors

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on his horse. The photo was released by Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency on Oct. 16, 2019. [YONHAP]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on his horse. The photo was released by Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency on Oct. 16, 2019. [YONHAP]

The former chairman and de-facto owner of a major South Korean underwear company who faces charges of corruption is believed to have given North Korean leader Kim Jong-un an Hermès saddle.
 
Prosecutors investigating Kim Seong-tae, ex-chairman of SBW Group, exclusively told the JoongAng Ilbo on Tuesday that sources at the company told them their former boss gave the North Korean leader a saddle made by luxury brand Hermès in late 2019 to clinch business deals with the North.
 
SBW executives were said to have handed over the gift to North Korean officials in China in November 2019, saying it was for the leader.
 
Kim Jong-un is known to be an enthusiastic equestrian.
 
SBW sources who spoke with prosecutors said their chairman, at the time, did not reveal how much the saddle cost.
 
If the testimony is true, it would mean the ex-chairman of SBW violated UN National Security Resolution 1718, which forbids any export of luxury goods to the North.
 
A prosecutor said Kim Seong-tae apparently tried to capitalize on thawing tensions between the two Koreas three years ago under the former Moon Jae-in administration.
 
Kim, who stepped down from the SBW chairmanship in May 2021 but allegedly remains in charge of major decision-making at the company, faces a slew of charges of corruption, including one that involves Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Lee Jae-myung.
 
Prosecutors believe Kim paid Lee’s legal fees with company funds when Lee was being prosecuted for violating the election law in 2018, when he was governor of Gyeonggi province.
 
Lee was acquitted of that charge by the Supreme Court in 2020.
 
Lee’s lawyer allegedly received nearly 300 million won ($229,000) from SBW Group during the trial, and an additional 2 billion won in SBW stock that he could sell after three years.
 
Kim Seong-tae, former chairman and de-facto owner of SBW Group [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Kim Seong-tae, former chairman and de-facto owner of SBW Group [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Aside from the allegations involving Lee, Kim is under investigation for stock price manipulation and smuggling company funds out of the country to give to North Korean officials for future business opportunities.
 
In January 2019, Kim is believed to have given $1.5 million to North Korean officials in China in four transactions, according to prosecutors. SBW executives allegedly hid dollars in their luggage and flew to China. Prosecutions think Kim contacted officials from Pyongyang’s state-controlled Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, which is in charge of inter-Korean exchanges.
 
As prosecutors zeroed in on Kim, the ex-chairman fled the country on May 31 and is currently suspected to be somewhere in Southeast Asia.
 
Interpol has issued a red notice for the search and arrest of Kim.
 
Sources in the judiciary exclusively told the JoongAng Ilbo this week that Kim recently reached out to prosecutors “through several routes,” saying he was willing to return to Korea and show up for questioning on the case involving DP Chairman Lee if prosecutors closed investigations on his alleged embezzlement and stock manipulation at SBW.
 
Prosecutors are said to have refused that offer.
 
A lawyer who’s close to Kim told the JoongAng Ilbo on the condition of anonymity said Kim was currently searching for the “right timing” to return to Korea.
 
“He wants to continue doing business after getting these investigations over with,” said the lawyer.
 
“He’s looking for the right timing to return to Korea because he wants to give the impression to his business partners that he’s trying to stay loyal to them by refusing to show up for questioning, but eventually had no choice but to return to the country.”
 
A prosecutor told the JoongAng Ilbo that Kim, at one point, tried to blackmail them, saying that he “colluded” with several prosecutors and would reveal their names if they keep focusing on him.

BY PARK HYEON-JUN, LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]
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