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The Korea Herald
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THE INVESTOR
March 29, 2024

The Boardroom

Hanwha chief‘s son arrested for violence

  • PUBLISHED :January 08, 2017 - 17:14
  • UPDATED :January 08, 2017 - 17:14
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[THE INVESTOR The youngest son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn was arrested on Jan. 7 for assaulting bar employees while under the influence of alcohol.

A Seoul court earlier issued a warrant for the police to arrest Kim Dong-seon, 27, the youngest of Chairman Kim’s three sons.

Kim allegedly assaulted employees of a bar in southern Seoul in the early hours of Jan. 5. He also tore off the seat of a police car that was carrying him to the police station for interrogation.

He was also accused of rowdy behavior during the police interrogation.

Charges facing Kim include violence, obstruction of business and destruction of public assets, according to the police.

Kim was a gold medalist at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games‘ group equestrian event. He is currently the head of the new growth strategy team at Hanwha Engineering & Construction and currently works in the construction unit of the eight-largest business group.

Police earlier said they decided to seek a warrant because of the seriousness of the crime and his record of committing similar transgressions in the past.

Crimes involving conglomerates’ owners and their families are often subject to intense public criticism in South Korea. A daughter of the CEO at Korean Air Lines Co. stepped down from her post as the air carrier‘s vice president after getting a suspended sentence for using violence and ordering the chief steward off a taxiing flight in New York in late 2014.

On Friday, upon the news of the violence, Hanwha Chairman Kim Seung-youn reportedly berated his youngest son and called on him to be punished accordingly after he was arrested for drunken misdemeanor.

“The chairman said the (incident) should not be downplayed or glossed over in any way, and that Dong-sun should be punished accordingly for his crimes,” Hanwha Group said in a statement.

This is the not the first time the Hanwha heir has come under fire for drunken misdemeanor. In 2010, he was given a suspended sentence for assaulting employees at a hotel bar.

As a member of the Hanwha Galleria equestrian team, Dong-sun also made headlines for having competed in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games alongside Chung Yu-ra, daughter of the beleaguered presidential confidante Choi Soon-sil.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)

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