Police have launched an investigation into allegations that the family of former Namyang Dairy Products Chairman Hong Won-sik purchased a luxury sofa worth approximately 150 million won using company funds and kept it at their private residence.
The Seoul Gangnam Police Station announced that it has booked and is investigating former Namyang Dairy Advisor Lee, the wife of former Chairman Hong, and their son, former Namyang Dairy Managing Director Hong, on charges of professional breach of trust.
They are suspected of using about 154 million won in company funds in 2018 to purchase the expensive sofa under the pretext of placing it in a restaurant business store that Namyang Dairy was pursuing, and instead keeping it at Advisor Lee's home.
The sofa in question was designed by the Swiss architect and designer Pierre Jeanneret, and police secured the sofa after discovering it at Advisor Lee's residence.
At the time, former Managing Director Hong was in charge of Namyang Dairy's overall restaurant business, and Advisor Lee reportedly participated as the actual manager of the restaurant business.
Police plan to investigate the overall suspicions, including whether the actual purchase of the sofa was intended for use in the restaurant business.
The two were previously convicted of embezzling around 3.7 billion won in company funds.
In January, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Advisor Lee to two years and six months in prison suspended for four years, and former Managing Director Hong to two years in prison suspended for four years.
(Reported by Park Se-won | Video by Chang Yu-jin | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)
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