By Moon Gwang-lip
Staff Reporter

Kim Woo-choong, founder and former chairman of the now-defunct Daewoo Group, may return home this year after fleeing from the country in late 1999.

A close aide to Kim said yesterday that the runaway businessman has often expressed his desire to come back to Korea since early this year.

Kim, 69, has been hiding abroad since October 1999, which was just before the group collapsed under heavy debts estimated at $80 billion.

He has allegedly spoken with his associates in the business community about the necessary procedures for his return. His aides were also known to have weighed opinions from the government and the public on his return.

``It’s still uncertain when the former chairman will return,’’ one of his aides said. ``But sources close to him have not ruled out the possibility that he will come back this year,’’ he said.

The aide said that Kim had planned to return to Korea this month, but he postponed the plan due to a series of scandals, including an oil development project involving Korea Railroad and a resort development scam surrounding a state-run corporation and aides to President Roh Moo-hyun.

His old age and deteriorating health are considered to be reasons for his return home.

Kim reportedly underwent surgery for an intestinal disease in Germany in 2002.

In addition, he seems to have come to the conclusion that it is time to face the consequences for his and the Daewoo Group’s accounting fraud.

Sources said that Kim has often complained that the law enforcement authorities brought charges against him and his group unfairly.

In late April, the Supreme Court fined seven former Daewoo Group executives about 23 trillion won for accounting fraud. Several of the accused ex-executives were also sentenced to prison.

It was the largest penalty to be issued in South Korea.

As for the verdict, Kim’s side expressed dissatisfaction, saying the court overestimated the amount of money he and his group hid overseas.

Upon his return, he will be subject to investigation by the prosecution as he is still on the wanted list.

Kim and his group were accused of illegally getting 9.2 trillion won in loans from banks by manipulating financial statements that falsely reported that the group made 41 trillion won in profit in May 2001.

In early 2003, Kim was found to have acquired French nationality and has since been spotted in Germany, the United States, Vietnam and Sudan.

joseph@koreatimes.co.kr

05-27-2005 21:45