[THE INVESTOR] Seoul has requested Interpol to put out a red notice alert on a key suspect in Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering corruption case. A red notice alert is placed on suspects wanted in Interpol member nations.
According to the investigators, Seoul’s Ministry of Justice requested the alert on a suspect identified by his surname Lee, who is the elder brother of architect Lee Chang-ha.
Lee Chang-ha, who held an executive level position at DSME from 2006 to 2009, was indicted in 2009 for receiving 300 million won ($256,705) from a DSME contractor.
The Lee brothers are thought to have been deeply involved in Nam’s illicit activities including managing his slush funds and in bribing government officials during the Lee Myung-bak administration.
In addition, Seoul’s investigators suspect the elder Lee of having acted as a broker between Lee Chang-ha and DSME contractors that used bribes to win contracts. Lee fled to Canada in 2009 as the investigators closed in on his brother. Lee had evaded detection until last year when he was involved in an assault case in Canada. Although Seoul began extradition procedures, Lee again fled when he was temporarily released by the Canadian authorities.
By Choi He-suk (
cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)