State prosecutors raid home, office of former KDB chief

 State prosecutors on Tuesday raided the home and office of a former head of the Korea Development Bank, as part of their probe into a high-profile corruption case involving a local shipbuilder.

During the raid, the prosecutors confiscated computer hard discs, documents and other materials to find out if Kang Man-soo, who served as KDB chairman from 2011 to 2013, was linked to any corrupt activities at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co.

Kang Man-soo, former head of the Korea Development Bank. (Yonhap)

The prosecution is looking into allegations that Kang might have played a direct or indirect role in the shipbuilder's managerial irregularities that took place several years ago. The KDB was a major shareholder of the DSME.

The Board of Audit and Inspection, the country's state auditor, has said the shipyard is suspected of rigging its books to hide up to 1.5 trillion won ($1.35 billion) in losses between 2013 and 2014.

The shipyard, along with two other major South Korean shipbuilders, is currently undergoing self-created debt-restructuring plans in the face of a decrease in new orders caused by the protracted global economic slump.(Yonhap)