On top of being charged for embezzling company funds, Coko Entertainment’s co-CEO Kim Woo Jung (52) has also been charged with investment fraud.
On January 12th, an investor named Ms. Yoon (42) filed a lawsuit at the Seoul Western District Prosecutor’s Office against Kim Woo Jung and his wife Ms. Han (52) for investment fraud. Ms. Yoon claims that she was fooled by Kim Woo Jung and lost roughly 550,000,000 KRW (500,000 USD).
It is reported that the two met through a common acquaintance last July. Kim Woo Jung proposed that they join together in taking over Korean franchise A. He proposed that they create a corporation and purchase 65% of the franchise stocks to take over its management.
At the time of the business proposal, Ms. Yoon had been looking for an investment opportunity so she gladly accepted the offer. Ms. Yoon claims that she never doubted Kim Woo Jung’s credibility because he was the CEO of a well known entertainment company with a degree from the prestigious Seoul National University as well as a certification from the United States as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
Because Ms. Yoon lives in the United States, she entrusted everything to Kim Woo Jung. She later discovered that she had been the victim of fraud. Of the 550,000,000 KRW she contributed, Kim Woo Jung paid the stock owners 312,000,000 KRW (~300,000 USD) and kept the remaining 238,000,000 KRW (~200,000 USD) for himself. On top of that, the company that purchased the stocks was a brokerage company that Ms. Han was the CEO of.
When Ms. Yoon demanded her money in October 2014, Ms. Han cancelled the contract with the franchise stock owners and fled overseas while Kim Woo Jung embezzled Coko Entertainment funds and fled to the U.S.
The Korean police have issued a warrant for Kim Woo Jung’s arrest and have requested an investigation from Interpol at this time.
This is a direct translation by Koreaboo of Hankook Ilbo and Newsen reports.
