Fugitive nderwear boss arrested in Thailand

Left, Yang Seon-gil 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 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 rush out of the country allegedly after receiving a tip that the Suwon Prosecutor’s Office was seeking an arrest warrant for violating the Capital Markets Act and embezzlement.  
  
Kim, who is rumored to be a former gangster, 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 province.
 
Lee was acquitted of that charge by the Supreme Court in 2020.
 

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