South Korean prosecutors raid shipping safety watchdogs
Updated: 2014-04-24 16:52
(Agencies)
|
|||||||||
|
"The objective was to investigate malpractices and corruption in the entire shipping industry," Song In-taek, head deputy chief prosecutor at Incheon District Prosecution Service, told reporters.
The Korea Register of Shipping, which is in charge of testing and certifying ships, and the Korea Shipping Association (KSA), which is responsible for routine shipment inspections, were not immediately available for comment.
Prosecutors raided the register's headquarters in the southern port city of Busan on Thursday. Yonhap news agency said investigations would look at the possibility of corruption in testing ships and whether bribes were paid.
The raid on the KSA took place on Wednesday when prosecutors also raided the home of Yoo Byung-un, the head of a family that owns the Chonghaejin Marine Co. Ltd, the company that operated the ship.
"The company will fully cooperate with the investigation," Kim Jae-beom, an official at Chonghaejin, told Reuters by telephone.
The finances of Chonghaejin and its complex share structure have come into the spotlight since the disaster. Yoo was jailed for fraud for four years in the early 1990s.
Asked if Yoo had gone overseas, prosecutors said he was still in South Korea but they had yet to contact him.
The financial watchdog and prosecutors are looking into the assets of Yoo's family for any possible embezzlement, prosecutors added.
- Death toll surges to 87 in S.Korean ferry disaster
- Prosecutor says 4 ferry crew members detained
- 65 dead, 237 missing in S. Korean ferry sinking accident
- Divers find bodies inside sunken ferry
- Prosecutors extend ferry captain's detention as death toll mounts
- Communications between sunken ferry, traffic center disclosed
- Death toll surges to 56 as divers enter sunken S.Korean ferry
- US sends troops to Poland for exercises
- French 'spiderman' scales 33-story building in Macao
- 2014 China Graduate Fashion Week in Beijing
- Top 10 celebrities driving auto brands
- Childhood photos of Prince William and Kate
- First Tesla luxury sedans arrive in China
- In this year's Boston Marathon, everyone's a winner
- Innovation competition kicks off in New York
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Beijing integrates with Tianjin, Hebei |
Enemies share eternity together |
Expats flee big, smoggy cities |
Life after an only child dies |
Parents put kindergartens to the test |
Nomads change for education |
Today's Top News
Obama criticized for Diaoyu Islands remarks
Opinion: Asia's future at risk
Michael Jackson's doctor denied appeal
Another US warship enters Black Sea
Slower growth poses challenges: AmCham
New investment rules open doors
Tesla luxury sedans arrive in China
Lenovo plans sales of 100m smartphones
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |