Seoul: The CEO of IMS Mobility was arrested Saturday on embezzlement and other charges linked to a man widely known as the "butler" for former first lady Kim Keon Hee. The Seoul Central District Court issued a detention warrant for Jo Young-tak, citing concerns he may destroy evidence.
According to Yonhap News Agency, special counsel Min Joong-ki's team, which is investigating corruption allegations surrounding the former first lady, alleges Jo embezzled about 3.5 billion won (US$2.37 million) and committed an additional 3.2 billion won in breach of trust while securing investments from several companies and using part of the funds to buy his firm's shares in 2023.
IMS Mobility, co-founded and partly owned by Kim Ye-seong, the "butler," received 18.4 billion won in investments from firms, including Kakao Mobility, HS Hyosung, and Shinhan Bank, through a private equity firm, according to the probe. Roughly 4.6 billion won of that money was allegedly used to repurchase IMS shares from Innovest Korea, a venture startup later identified as a shell company controlled by Kim.
Investigators believe the transactions may have allowed Kim to profit through an exit-style maneuver. They had also examined whether investors' ties to the former first lady influenced the funding but reportedly found no direct evidence linking her to the alleged scheme.
Kim was indicted and detained in August on charges of co-embezzling 2.43 billion won with Jo. His first trial is scheduled to conclude Dec. 22.
Jo's arrest followed the prosecutors' second request for a detention warrant after an initial bid was rejected in September. Prosecutors said additional charges, including bribery by breach of trust, were added after further investigation.
The bribery allegation centers on claims that Jo provided monthly payments to a journalist in exchange for favorable coverage of his company. Investigators believe the payments totaled tens of millions of won and say the reporter is also under investigation for receiving bribes by breach of trust.