A former DA Technology CEO accused of helping ESMO Chairman Lee In-gwang, one of the main culprits in the Lime scandal, flee abroad and of embezzling hundreds of billions of won in company funds has been sentenced to prison.
The Criminal Agreement Division 14 of the Seoul Southern District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jeong-hee) on the 28th sentenced a former DA Technology CEO, a person surnamed Lee, 56, indicted on charges including breach of trust and embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and aiding a criminal's escape, to seven years in prison. An executive, identified as A, at DA Technology who was also brought to trial was sentenced to three years in prison, and a close associate, a person surnamed Park, who assisted Lee's crimes was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for five years.
The court said, "The amount of breach of trust and embezzlement reaches about 31 billion won, and the conduct is egregious, including providing funds to help Lee In-gwang, who fled to avoid arrest by investigators, stay on the run," adding, "DA Technology faced financial difficulties, entered rehabilitation and delisting procedures, and the damage to shareholders and creditors is immense. Although the company submitted a letter of non-punishment, we considered that the unrecovered damage amounts to 10 billion won."
However, the court did not remand Lee and A into custody in the courtroom. The court said, "They appeared to have faithfully participated in the trial while on bail, and we took into account their efforts to remedy the damage."
Lee is accused of conspiring with Chairman Lee to provide 4 billion won of company funds to an outside party without any recovery plan and of taking 23 billion won for personal purposes such as debt repayment. He is also accused of hiring Chairman Lee's secretary as a DA Technology employee and paying a salary to raise funds for the chairman's flight.
Chairman Lee is one of the chair group at Lime Asset Management (Lime) and is accused of acquiring a KOSDAQ-listed company with 130 billion won of Lime funds and manipulating its stock price. After remaining a fugitive overseas for more than four years, he was arrested in France in Mar. 2024.