Ugly Management
The former executives of the Orion Group presented a petition to the government to oppose the Korea’s liberation day special pardon of Tam Chul-kon, chairman of the company. In addition, they are planning to proceed a criminal suit about Tam’s corruptions. Responding to it, Orion group also is to file civil and criminal suits against them.
It has been found on August 5 that three former executives of Orion Group including Shim Yong-sub, the former president of Goyang Orion Orions (Orion pro basketball team) have presented a petition to the Blue House (Presidential Office) and the Korean Ministry of Justice on Aug. 2, to oppose Tam’s special pardon which might would take place on occasion of the liberation day of August 15.
In the petition, they argued that they were compulsorily retired for the reason of saying the truth during the prosecution investigation process and criminal suit, which came after they were just allegedly utilized by chairman Tam for slash fund creation and other unlawful activities to fulfill Tam’s and his wife Lee Hwa-Kyung’s self-interests.
“We are going to file both civil and criminal lawsuits against Tam to make Tam’s personal corruption, embezzlement, breach of trust, tax evasion, subornation of perjury upon many executives to cover up his crimes and other suspected issues be judged by the law,” they explained.
Earlier Tam was indicted on charges of embezzlement and appropriation of 30 billion won (US$26 million) of company’s money in the year 2011. He was released after being given a three-year jail sentence suspended five years in the following year, and now he is currently in the probation period.
Cho Kyung-min, the former president of Orion Group who was involved in the embezzlement case, filed a lawsuit to the Seoul Northern District Court, requesting Tam and his wife to pay the money they promised 20 years ago. Cho argues that Tam and his wife promised 10% of their accrued shares of the company to stop him from retiring when he decided to leave the company in 1992. He is claiming that 150 billion won out of the 1.5 trillion won of the profit, the couple obtained, should belong to him.
Cho was charged with participating in Tam’s embezzlement case and sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in jail and 4 years’ probation at that time. In 2012, he was arrested on the charge of embezzlement of funds of the Sports Toto during his tenure as the president of the sports marketing company and was released at the end of 2014, after being in the jail for 2 years and 6 months.
Meanwhile, the Orion Group said it will file both civil and criminal suits on charges of defamation and obstruction of business against the offense of the former executives.