유병언 전 회장의 장남 유대균과 도피조력자 박수경이 인천광역수사대에 모습을 드러냈다.
인천광역수사대는 25일 오후 7시쯤 경기도 용인시 한 오피스텔을 급습해 유대균과 박수경을 검거했다. 오피스텔은 유대균의 수행원인 하 씨 여동생의 소유로 상당 기간 비어 있었지만 전기와 수도요금이 청구된 걸 수상히 여겨 급습한 것으로 알려졌다.
유대균과 박수경은 경찰과 1시간여 대치 끝에 소방차와 사다리차를 동원하자 문을 열었다.
유대균은 인천광역수사대 도착 당시 유병언 전 회장의 사망 소식을 전혀 모르고 있었던 것으로 알려졌다. 뒤이어 도착한 수행원 박수경은 검정색 옷을 입고 머리는 단정하게 묶은 모습으로 당당히 내부로 들어갔다. 박수경 씨는 무술 유단자로 태권도 심판 자격을 갖고 있는 것으로 알려졌다. 유병언 유대균 부자의 '호위무사'로 유명하며, '신엄마'로 알려진 신명희 씨의 딸이다.
Sewol owner's oldest son detained
The police said that investigators arrested Yoo Dae-kyoon, the eldest son of the runaway Yoo Byung-eun, at a residence in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, at around 7 p.m. on Friday.
In addition, Park Soo-kyung, who was staying with Yoo Dae-kyoon, has also been captured. Park is a daughter of Shin Myung-hee, who was a female confidante of Yoo Byung-eun.
Park had allegedly been accompanying Dae-kyoon during his escape. Her mother Shin Myung-hee is known to be a key leader of the Salvation Sect, which was led by the Sewol owner Yoo Byung-eun, who was found dead by a farmer on June 12.
Investigators have recently carried out a full-fledged manhunt for the fugitive Dae-kyoon in Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province. But police seized him via a raid on an officetel in Yongin, a satellite city south of Seoul.
The residence is reportedly owned by a confidante, surnamed Ha, of Dae-kyoon.
The senior Yoo and his son had been on the nation’s most wanted list for about two months. The police had reinforced its investigative manpower in the Gyeongsang provinces after obtaining the intelligence that one of Yoo Dae-kyoon’s aides, a woman in her 30s, recently bought some goods at a store in Ulsan.
The woman is believed to be Park Soo-kyung, 34, according to police officers. She had allegedly been accompanying Dae-kyoon during his flight from the authorities after the April 16 sinking tragedy.
The Incheon District Prosecutors' Office -- which has been conducting an extraordinary probe into Yoo Byung-eun's family and aides in coordination with the police -- is likely to soon ask the court to issue warrants for the two suspects to take them into custody.
Key allegations include that the ferry owner and his three children -- Dae-kyoon, the second son Hyuk-kee and the daughter Seom-na -- own stakes in Chonghaejin Marine Co., the operator of the capsized Sewol, through shady cross-funding by exploiting dozens of sister firms.
Formerly, a group of investigators were dispatched to several cafes and restaurants including the Monte Cristo in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, which have been under the management of Dae-kyoon.
In efforts by law enforcement authorities to prevent the Yoo family -- suspected of engaging in a variety of business irregularities -- from stashing away their property, the investigators seized some 100 high-priced art works that were exhibited in the establishments.
Park Soo-kyung’s mother Shin Myung-hee, 64, gave herself up to the prosecution on June 13 -- only one day after Yoo’s body was discovered at a farm in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province.
Shin, who is suspected of having masterminded Yoo Byung-eun’s escape, was taken into custody.
By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)
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