"I hardly ever saw employees coming and going from the office. It seemed like one or two people occasionally came in at night."
At about 4 p.m. on the 20th, at a building in Bitgaram-dong, Naju, South Jeolla Province. The office of cosmetics manufacturer and seller CosmediM in the building was firmly locked. In the roughly 33 square-meter (about 10-pyeong) office visible through the door crack, there were only three desks, two bookshelves, and a few chairs left sitting alone. Nowhere in the building or office could a sign identifying the company name be found, and even people who work in the building did not know CosmediM was in the same building. CosmediM is registered as the responsible seller for 2 billion won worth of hand cream supplied to NH NongHyup Life, which is facing allegations of irregularities in promotional goods purchases.
NongHyup Life placed an order on Dec. 31 last year with NongHyup Hanaro Distribution Samsong Center for 100,000 sets of three "Le Doam" brand hand creams. The unit price was 20,000 won per set, bringing the aggregates to 2 billion won. Given the size of the contract, current CEO Park Byung-hee, who was then a vice president at NongHyup Life, was included on the approval line. However, only 1 billion won worth (50,000 units) of hand cream was actually delivered to NongHyup Life, raising suspicions that the remaining 1 billion won was embezzled. The remaining 50,000 units were delivered only after NongHyup Financial Group launched a special audit. NongHyup Life claims it received partitioning deliveries considering seasonal factors, but the Financial Supervisory Service began an inspection on the 21st.
The hand cream at issue was manufactured by a company based in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, and CosmediM was listed as the responsible seller (cosmetics responsible seller). Yet CosmediM has capital of only 10 million won and is a company where a single representative born in 1997 accounts for the entire staff. Moreover, it was only on Nov. 14, 2024 that it obtained a cosmetics responsible sales permit from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. About a month after receiving the permit, it created and distributed Le Doam, and NongHyup Life ordered 2 billion won worth. NongHyup Life also fueled suspicion by agreeing to pay as much as 20,000 won per unit when placing a bulk order of 100,000 units.
The CosmediM office did not look like a place that sells cosmetics. The bookshelves held only cultural heritage-related books unrelated to cosmetics, and even those were thick with dust as if they had been left unattended for a long time.
More than 10 office workers and merchants met in the building where CosmediM is located did not know the company existed. Even the office owner, identified as Mr. A, said, "I handle lease contracts directly every time, but I don't know much about a company called CosmediM."
Mr. B, the owner of a screen golf range on the same floor as CosmediM, said, "I hardly ever saw people entering or leaving (the building)," and added, "It was a bit strange that it was hard to see any employees." Mr. C, the owner of a convenience store on the floor below, also said, "I've never heard of such a company," adding, "Even looking in through the windows from outside the building, it was hard to see anyone."
According to ChosunBiz's reporting, Hanaro Distribution Samsong Center, which signed a private contract with NongHyup Life, subcontracted the purchase and distribution of the hand cream to companies AO and Line Plus, and those two companies in turn re-subcontracted to a company called Jihyun Salon. But Jihyun Salon was run by a family member of a NongHyup Life employee. In other words, the distribution structure was CosmediM → Jihyun Salon → AO/Line Plus → Samsong Center → NongHyup Life.
However, the official website address for the Le Doam hand cream brand was "jhsalon." It appears to be an ID indicating the problematic Jihyun (jh) Salon (salon). The reason suspicion is being raised is that CosmediM, listed as the responsible seller, is merely a shell company, and in reality, after passing through such complicated steps, Jihyun Salon, run by a family member of a NongHyup Life employee, supplied the hand cream to NongHyup Life.
The core of the Financial Supervisory Service inspection is expected to be tracing the flow of the 1 billion won. Some allege the money is linked to the leadership of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation. Whether NongHyup Life CEO Park Byung-hee was aware of the relevant facts is also a key issue. Earlier, in a separate case, police raided the office of National Agricultural Cooperative Federation President Kang Ho-dong on suspicion of bribery totaling around 100 million won.
A NongHyup Life official said, "The hand cream purchased at the time was indeed that company's product," while adding, "As this matter is under audit, it is difficult to disclose details." Regarding the hand cream not being delivered within the deadline, the official said it was "a matter of timing." The deadline passed, but in the end all the hand cream was delivered. ChosunBiz made multiple phone calls to the heads of CosmediM and Jihyun Salon, but neither answered.