Kang Moon-seok, vice-chairman of Sooseok Trading and second son of Dong-A Pharmaceutical chairman Kang Shin-ho, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of embezzlement and breach of duty.
Officers at the Seoul Eastern Prosecutors Office said Thursday that the junior Kang is suspected of pocketing a total of 4.5 billion won ($3.8 million) from Digital Ocean, an online ad agency his company acquired, from June 2008 to last September. He is also accused of inflicting 2 billion won in damages to Digital Ocean by attempting to purchase Wooridul Pharmaceutical last year.
Kang Moon-seok
The prosecutors are expected to indict Kang next week.
Kang Moon-seok made a scene in 2004 when he was forced to step down from his position as president of Dong-A by his father, the founder of the company. He was accused of igniting a “rebellion of the prince” in the nation’s largest indigenous drug maker. He called for extraordinary shareholders’ meeting twice in 2007 to redeem his post, oust his father and his “cronies,” but failed. Moon-seok sold off his shares and washed his hands of the company after that.
Kang later attempted to re-embark into the pharmaceutical market by buying off Wooridul but gave up due to monetary problems.
By Bae Ji-sook (
baejisook@heraldcorp.com)