Home > National > Social Affairs

Ex-chairman of SBW Group repatriated to Korea after arrest in Thailand

Published: 17 Jan. 2023, 10:21 Updated: 17 Jan. 2023, 16:24

Kim Seong-tae, ex-chairman of SBW Group, arrives in Incheon International Airport on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

The ex-chairman of SBW Group was repatriated to Korea Tuesday after being arrested in Thailand last week.

Kim Seong-tae, who is facing charges of corruption including a charge that involves Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Lee Jae-myung, has been on the run since May last year.

The ex-chairman allegedly paid Lee's legal fees with company funds and smuggled large sums of money to North Korean officials.

Kim fled Korea after reportedly receiving a tip that the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office was seeking an arrest warrant against him for corruption and embezzlement.

Kim fled to Singapore in May 2022 before the Suwon Prosecutors' Office issued an arrest warrant for him and then traveled to Thailand in July. He was arrested on a golf course in Pathum Thani, north of Bangkok, along with his cousin Yang Seon-gil, the current chairman and CEO of SBW Group on Jan. 10.

Kim will be questioned at the Suwon District Prosecutor's Office.

BY SOHN DONG-JOO [[email protected]]