http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190402000701

The police have booked a number of third-generation scions of South Korean family-owned conglomerates on suspicions they bought and used illegal substances even as the investigation into more drug dealers and buyers widens.

A grandson of SK Group founder Chey Jong-gun was apprehended Monday for allegedly buying liquid marijuana, the police said Monday. He is suspected of buying the drug, which is illegal in Korea, on 15 occasions and smoking it between March and May last year.

A grandson of Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung was also booked on suspicions of purchasing marijuana between March and May last year. Chung, who is now staying abroad, is set to be called in for questioning.

The suspected purchases of marijuana came to light after a man, only identified by his surname Lee and said come from a wealthy family, was apprehended for smoking marijuana in February. He too has admitted to the charges, according to local media reports.

Lee is said to have told the police during the probe that he purchased marijuana for Chey and Chung, according to news reports.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency also announced that they have launched an internal investigation into allegations that some officers conducted a slipshod investigation into Hwang Ha-na, a granddaughter of Namyang Dairy founder Hong Doo-young.

………

Hwang was booked in 2015 on suspicions that she gave methamphetamine to a person identified by the surname Cho and took the drug together. Cho was found to have later wired 300,000 won to a drug dealer’s bank account, which was given by Hwang. The police referred the case to the prosecution in 2017, with a recommendation not to file charges.

Hwang was never questioned by police and avoided indictment while Cho was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in jail suspended for three years, which triggered suspicions that the police helped Hwang avoid punishment due to her family background.

In its verdict, the court said that Cho “conspired” with Hwang to take methamphetamine on three occasions. It said they used the illegal substance together in 2015 and Hwang sold it to Cho.

>>6015087

https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20190401010300320

INCHEON, April 1 (Yonhap) – A grandson of SK Group founder, Chey Jong-gun, was arrested Monday for allegedly buying liquid marijuana, police said.

The 31-year-old grandson, whose name was withheld, is suspected of making five purchases of liquid marijuana, which is illegal in South Korea, between March and May last year.

>>6015087

https://www.forbes.com/profile/chey-tae-won/#1df145de4bf9

In 2013 he was convicted of misappropriating company funds but was later pardoned by then-president Park Geun-hye and returned to his post in 2016.

Chey is a nephew of SK Group founder Chey Jong-gun, who started the conglomerate with a textile company called Sunkyong.

..

not the grandson but that president is in jail

…

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/24/world/asia/park-geun-hye-sentenced-south-korea.html

Aug. 24, 2018

SEOUL, South Korea — Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s impeached and ousted president, was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison, as an appeals court convicted her of collecting more bribes than previously believed from Samsung, the country’s largest business conglomerate

>>6015087

3rd person named Lee, going to leap and think he is related to this lee

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2012/10/164_24537.html

Lee Kun-hee, now former Samsung Group chairman, doesn't need Freud to know his emotional state of mind or Machiavelli to strategize. The 66-year-old tycoon, who still controls the business empire that accounts for one fifth of Korea's exports and employs 200,000, has it all figured out, except for one thing.

To complete his ``grand design,'' the leader of the country's biggest chaebol or family-oriented conglomerate, needs a son like Michael Corleone, the third among three sons of the Don in Mario Puzo's epic novel The Godfather, about the rise of a criminal Sicilian family in New York.

By all means, Lee may be down but not out after a harrowing three-month investigation by the president-appointed special prosecutor. The probe, triggered by revelations by a disgruntled chief legal counsel for Samsung, ended with indictment on three accounts slapped against Lee, once the most popular role model of young Koreans. The three accounts included tax evasion to the tune of $100 million and breach of trust.

On April 22, a week after the indictments were announced, Lee read a mea culpa in front of the entire nation and resigned from his post as Samsung chairman. It was a moment of humiliation for the man, who has engineered the remarkable growth of the conglomerate to the front ranks of the Global Inc.

Adding insult to injury was the fact that it was not just he but other members of his family that had to parade along phalanxes of photographers on their way to the prosecutor's office for questioning.

There are precedents in other Korean big businesses that have survived a generational shift from father to son. SK Chairman Chey Tae-won had to spend months in jail on a conviction of accounting fraud before he could take full control of his conglomerate from Sohn Kil-seung, a hired gun by his late father Chey Jong-hyun. When the senior Chey died in 1998, Sohn said that he would take care of the business for a couple years so as to help the younger Chey learn the ropes. But it was five years later that Taewon took over after time behind bars.

Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo also earned his respect after he went to jail on bribery charges for his father and legend Chung Ju-yung.

>>6015087

> Chung Ju-yung died in 2001

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/mar/28/guardianobituaries1

Even after Korea's financial crisis of 1997-98, Hyundai was reluctant to reform. Power struggles between three of Chung's sons merely hastened the process of breaking up the group. Hyundai Motor is already spun off under a rebellious eldest son, Chung Mong-koo, leaving the third son, and their father's favourite, Mong-hun, with the debt-ridden construction and chip businesses. Only loans from state banks have saved Hyundai from following its rival Daewoo into collapse.

That rescue was a reward for Chung's key role in the peace process with North Korea. He first went north in 1989, but neither regime was ready for compromise. A decade later, he symbolically drove 500 cattle across the demilitarised zone between the two Koreas as a gift, met the northern leader Kim Jong-il, and began tourist cruises to the scenic Diamond mountains (Kumgang-san), which have since taken more than 300,000 southerners to the north. These gestures paved the way for last year's summit.

………

https://asia.nikkei.com/Asia300/Hyundai-Motor-ponders-passing-the-family-baton

March 29, 2018 15:25 JST

SEOUL – Hyundai Motor Group appears to be preparing for a generational change as Chairman Chung Mong-koo slowly hands over the reins to his eldest son, Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun.

The younger Chung will now serve on more boards within the group than his father. Earlier this month, general contractor Hyundai Engineering & Construction approved the retirement of Chung Mong-koo, meaning he will be working as a director at just three group companies.

The South Korean conglomerate has declined to comment on any change to its management, but Chung Eui-sun holds four directorships, including Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Kia Motors.

Speculation is rife that Chung Mong-koo, who turns 80 this year, is waiting for the right time to hand the baton completely over to his son.

Chung Eui-sun has won plaudits among the "third generation" of South Korea's family-run chaebol, as the conglomerates are known, for his skills in building Hyundai Motor's luxury brand Genesis and putting Kia back on its feet.

..At Samsung group, Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is expected to take over as chairman of the key Samsung Electronics unit. Chey Tae-won, another third-generation leader, became chairman of SK group in 2005.

>>6015208

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190227000699

Updated : Feb 27, 2019 - 16:04

The company confirmed that the group’s board, consisting of four executives and five outside directors, will hold an annual shareholders meeting on March 22 to vote on the appointment of Chung as CEO.

If approved – which is almost certain – the 49-year-old tycoon will become co-CEO along with his father Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo, President Lee Won-hee and Vice President Ha Eon-tae. Chung Mong-koo also heads the group’s auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis.

On the same day, Hyundai Mobis will hold a separate annual shareholders meeting to appoint Chung as CEO.

“Since the executive vice chairman has stressed the importance of communication with shareholders, investors and the market, the group is likely to speed up its protection of shareholders’ rights and increase their value,” Hyundai Motor Group said in a statement.

The third-generation chaebol scion is taking the helm of core affiliates 11 years after he stepped down as Kia Motors CEO, taking responsibility for Kia’s continued losses.

With his renewed status at Kia Motors next month, Chung will take the chief position of the group’s four key units, which include Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Steel and Hyundai Mobis.

>>6015087

>Namyang Dairy founder Hong Doo-young

https://www.koreabang.com/2013/stories/korean-dairy-giant-namyang-apologises-as-scandal-widens.html

Namyang’s history of controversy is cited as proof of the company’s misconceived philosophy. The company’s CEO and largest shareholder, Hong Won-shik, is notorious for telling employees in training that ‘market share no. 1 is not possible if one abides by the law.’

In 1999, Hong paid an official at the Department of Defense 15,000,000 KRW (approx. 15,000 USD) to secure his son exemption from mandatory military service. In 2003, Hong was charged and found guilty of creating a slush fund with illegal kickbacks obtained from construction firms building company structures. The verdict forced him to give up his management role, though as the single largest shareholder he continued to maintain significant power over business strategy.

In a pattern of unethical behavior, Namyang was found in 2009 to have exported to Vietnam baby formula suspected of containing melamine. In 2010, the company had to deal with yet more negative publicity for paying obstetricians in return for using only its products at hospitals. The following year there surfaced a voice recording implying that the company officials had tried to bribe the Food and Drug Administration.

……

CEO Hong is the eldest son of the company’s founder. He recused himself from a management role after being arrested and released in 2003 for creating a slush fund with illegal kickbacks from construction firms. He appointed CEO Kim Woong as a technocrat-chief of the company and on the surface refrains from participating in running the company. But within the industry, it is believed that all company strategies come from the brain of CEO Hong.

Therefore, this crisis is seen as an example of ‘owner risk’ among some circles

………

https://www.koreaboo.com/stories/heres-yoochuns-fiancee-hwang-hana-called-korean-paris-hilton/

Hwang Hana’s luxurious life was exposed as soon as news of her upcoming marriage to JYJ’s Park Yoochun came out.

As soon as her identity as Yoochun’s alleged fiancee was revealed, fans immediately discovered her notable family background. Hwang Hana is reported to be the granddaughter of the founder of Namyang Dairy.

The blog was the hallmark to her luxurious lifestyle as it posted reviews of restaurants run by famous chefs along with snapshots of her exclusive designer items.

Although Hwang Hana received a lot of interest for her relationship with Park Yoochun, her status as a chaebol background and luxurious lifestyle earned her the “Korean Paris Hilton” nickname from the netizens.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2019/03/18/lawsuit-filed-against-actor-park-yoochun-in-a-time-of-heightened-scrutiny/#39b0179063d9

The Burning Sun scandal, which involves k-pop star Seungri of Big Band and singer and TV celebrity Jung Joon Young, as well as members of the k-pop bands CNBLUE, FT Island and Highlight, has prompted some questions about police involvement in covering up South Korean celebrity scandals.

Scrutiny of communication between Seungri and Yoo In Suk, the co-founder of Yuri Holdings, the parent company of the Burning Sun nightclub, suggested that some members of the police force might be instrumental in covering up alleged crimes, which in this case may include drugging women and filming them being sexually assaulted at the nightclub.

However, he has now also been the subject of a few lawsuits and this one may reach the courts in a time of heightened awareness of possible special celebrity treatment.

While Park was serving his two-year mandatory military service, which all South Korean men, ages 18 to 35, must serve, he was accused of sexual assault by two women. He denied the allegations and said he would retire from the entertainment business if the charges were proven.

Park was cleared of the allegations made and Park’s lawyers sued the women for defamation and blackmail, winning the first case. One of the accusers received a prison sentence as did two others associated with the case. A second accuser was also charged with defamation but was found not guilty. The 18-month legal battle ended in 2017 when the courts denied an appeal on that verdict.

https://iranwire.com/en/features/5946

Salman Samani, the spokesman for the Interior Ministry, announced that the Crisis Management Coordination Council had been put on 24-hour alert in 23 provinces on order of the interior minister. He said that annual leave had been cancelled for officials working for all relevant and responsible agencies until normal conditions resumed.

Iranians celebrate the ancient holiday of Sizdah Bedar, or Nature Day, on April 2 — 13 days after the Iranian new year, which began on March 21. People usually spend the day in parks, meadows, forests, woods, and on river banks. But this year the Meteorological Organization of Iran issued a statement warning people not to travel to the western and southwestern regions on April 1 and 2. It also warned that strong winds in the provinces of Yazd, Markazi, Isfahan and Qom, as well as in southern Tehran and the northern area of Fars province might cause severe damage.

The most critical situation is in Khuzestan, where two major dams are near full capacity. Three more days of rain could cause the dams to overflow. One of them is Dez Dam, a significant structure built by US companies in the 1960s, with a height of 352 meters. Fourteen villages in the vicinity of the dams had already been evacuated and a further 36 were evacuated on March 31.

iran flood continued

>>6015386

President Rouhani and the Guards’ Commander-in-Chief General Mohammad Ali Jafari have been trading accusations and insults regarding each other's ability for problem-solving at a time when these skills are much needed.

On March 24, Guards’ engineers carried out three explosions at three points along the railway tracks north of the city of Aqqala in the flood-stricken province of Golestan to release water accumulated on one side of the railway — as it happens, the railway was built by the Guards. Mohsen Rezai, the Guards’ former commander, referred to it as "the explosion of hope." Three days later, the Guards’ current commander, General Jafari, ordered other explosions to demolish a road near Gomishan in the same province to, he said, “let flood water pour into the Caspian Sea.” These operations received generous praise from the media affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards.

…….

Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, claimed that the floods were the result of “climatic manipulation” by enemies of the Islamic Republic [Persian link]. “There are strong reasons to believe that recent floods are the result of the manipulation of the climate by foreigners,” the agency claimed.

Tasnim was not alone in making such claims. Before the floods and when many people were preoccupied by the drought, Gholamreza Jalali, the head of Iran’s Civil Defense Organization, had talked about “suspicions” that climate change in Iran was the work of foreigners. He claimed that “joint committees by Turkey and Israel” had stolen moisture and snow from the clouds over Iran. He also claimed that Iran’s scientific institutions had confirmed his claims.

Ahmad Vazifeh, director general of the weather bureau at Iran’s Meteorological Organization rejected Jalali’s claim. “It is not possible for a country to steal snow or clouds,”

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/04/02/russian-cyber-expert-sentenced-for-treason-in-fsb-scandal-a65046

A Russian internet entrepreneur has been sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of state treason in the interests of the United States.

Georgy Fomchenkov’s verdict comes a month after cybersecurity expert Ruslan Stoyanov and ex-FSB security officer Sergei Mikhailov were sentenced to 14 and 22 years in prison on the same charges. Russian media reported in 2017 that the group was suspected of providing U.S. officials with information about Russian military intelligence hacking of the Democratic National Committee — though the allegation was never officially included in their charges.

Fomchenkov avoided the minimum sentence of 12 years for state treason by pleading guilty and testifying against Mikhailov and Stoyanov, the Kommersant business daily reported on Tuesday.

The case was classified and the trial held behind closed doors.

Dokuchayev — the last of the suspects who has not yet been sentenced — has also pleaded guilty. Dokuchayev was charged with other alleged accomplices by the U.S. in 2017 for hacking millions of Yahoo email accounts.