Fugitive underwear boss arrested in Thailand

Yang Seon-gil, left, and Kim Seong-tae arrested in Thailand. [JOONGANG ILBO]

The fugitive Kim Seong-tae, ex-chairman of the underwear company SBW Group, was arrested in Thailand on Tuesday, eight months after he fled the country.

The 55-year-old, along with SBW Group chairman and CEO, Yang Seon-gil, were arrested at a golf course in Pathum Thani, north of Bangkok.

The two men fled Korea after allegedly receiving a tip that the Suwon Prosecutors' Office was seeking an arrest warrant for violating the Capital Markets Act and embezzlement.

Kim is accused of smuggling out large sums of U.S. dollars to China in suitcases that were passed on to North Korean officials.

The de facto chairman, who resigned in 2021, is also facing a slew of charges of corruption, including one that involves Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Lee Jae-myung.

Kim reportedly 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.

Lee was acquitted of that charge by the Supreme Court in 2020.

BY PARK HYEON-JUN, LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]