DSME CEO Questioned over Accounting Fraud
The chief executive of struggling Korean shipbuilder Daewoo was questioned by state prosecutors on Tuesday over allegations that the yard tried to cover a major deficit in 2015 by underreporting losses.
According to a report in Yonhap, Jung Sung-leep, 66, appeared before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office as a suspect on charges of violating the Act on External Audit of Stock Companies.
Jung Sung-leep, DSME’s President and CEO since May 2015, has been reportedly charged with underreporting some KRW 120 billion (USD 101 million) in business losses in 2015.
Ko Jae-ho, who headed the company from 2012 to 2015, is awaiting a court's ruling Wednesday over allegations he overreported some 5.7 trillion won in net assets between 2012 and 2014.
Ko's predecessor Nam Sang-tae is also standing trial on bribery charges.
South Korean shipbuilders have been under severe financial strain since the 2008 global economic crisis, which sent new orders tumbling amid a glut of vessels and tougher competition from Chinese rivals.