Police sent Kim Sang-chul, chairman of Hancom, without detention for 'suspicious of raising slush funds'

Kim Sang-chul, chairman of Hangul and Computer, who is accused of creating slush funds using virtual currency, has been investigated by prosecutors.

The anti-corruption economic crime investigation team of the Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency said yesterday (2nd) that it sent Chairman Kim without detention on charges of breach of trust under the Specific Economic Crimes Aggravated Punishment Act.

Chairman Kim is accused of being involved in creating a slush fund worth 9.6 billion won by receiving 8.03 billion won worth of settlement money from selling the virtual currency "Arowana Token" to other virtual currencies since 2021.

Chairman Kim's second son and executive director of Hancom With, Mr. Kim and Mr. Chung, CEO of a cryptocurrency management company, were first indicted and sentenced to three years in prison and two and a half years in prison, respectively, in the first trial in July.

Earlier, the police applied for a preliminary arrest warrant for Chairman Kim in June, but the court rejected the warrant, saying it needed to guarantee the right to defend itself and there was no fear of removing evidence or running away.