▲ This undated photo shows Kim Bong-hyun, the former chairman of the small industrial robot manufacturer Star Mobility. (Yonhap)

court-Lime Asset

Businessman behind massive fund scandal gets 30-yr prison term for embezzlement

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Yonhap) -- An entrepreneur at the center of a 1.7 trillion-won (US$1.3 billion) hedge fund fraud scandal was sentenced to 30 years in prison Thursday for massive embezzlement.

Kim Bong-hyun, the former chairman of the small industrial robot manufacturer Star Mobility, was the main financial resource for Lime Asset Management Co., a now-defunct asset management firm.

Lime Asset was accused of selling and running fraudulent financial products that eventually resulted in the suspension of fund redemption amounting to an estimated 1.7 trillion won.

The Seoul Southern District Court found Kim guilty of stealing 40 billion won worth of Lime Asset funds invested in Star Mobility, and other assets from multiple companies to pay off his personal debt. The total embezzlement amounted to 130 billion won.

The court also ordered the disgraced businessman to forfeit 76.9 billion won.

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