The prosecutor’s office launched an investigation Thursday into the daughter of Kim Moo-sung, a lawmaker of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, for allegedly receiving hundreds of millions of won over several years through false employment at her father-in-law’s company.

The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Busan launched the probe after receiving a petition concerning the lawmaker’s daughter.


Her father-in-law, Park Yoon-so, runs a company named NK Co. based in Busan and Rep. Kim’s daughter was appointed as deputy manager at NK’s subsidiary company The Safety.

NK is a Kospi-listed firm that manufactures and markets ballast water treatment systems, high pressure gas vessels and fire extinguisher equipment, among other products.

A former NK employee told a state-run broadcaster KBS that Kim’s daughter rarely came to the office. The company claimed she was working remotely from home.

She is suspected to have pocketed some 3 million won ($2,650) per month. 

The National Tax Service has reported that the daughter received a monthly salary from both NK’s Korea office and Chinese subsidiary when she lived in China for two years from 2012. She allegedly received a total of 396 million won over 5 1/2 years from 2012, except in 2014, the year she had been caught.

NK’s homepage crashed Thursday in an overload of traffic after reports emerged.

Park said he wanted to help his son and wife and would straighten out the issue. Rep. Kim said he did not know about the false employment.

Kim’s daughter and Park’s son married in March 2011.

By Chyung Eun-ju (ejchyung@heraldcorp.com)