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Prosecutors will file fresh arrest warrant applications for Lone Star executives accused of manipulating the share price of Korea Exchange Bank¡¯s credit card unit before the offshore fund took it over cheap. A court on Wednesday again refused resubmitted arrest warrants for three Lone Star executives, but prosecutors will file new applications for Lone Star vice chairman Ellis Short and the head of Lone Star Advisors Korea Yoo Hoe-won. Senior Prosecutor Chae Dong-wook said, "We will collect more evidence and list additional charges against Yoo found during our investigation of the case.¡±
But Chae said prosecutors changed their minds about another batch of arrest warrants they were to apply for this week. They had planned to take two or three suspects who advised Lone Star on the sale or worked for the financial authorities into custody for colluding to sell the bank at a dumping price. The former KEB president Lee Kang-won was already arrested this week. The decision will delay the probe of irregularities in the sale, with the announcement of results expected in late November or early December now indefinitely postponed.
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The prosecution's flag flutters in the wind as the Supreme Public prosecutors¡¯ Office is lit up after midnight on Tuesday, when a court refused arrest warrants for Lone Star officials.
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Prosecutors also hinted that they found some evidence that Hyundai Marine and Fire Insurance president Ha Jong-sun, then a lawyer for Lone Star, lobbied politicians and officials over the sale. Asked about the accusation against Ha, Chae said, "If someone lobbied for the sale of KEB to Lone Star, we have to investigate him. It¡¯s a core part of our investigation into the allegation that KEB was sold to the offshore fund below market price.¡± The remark makes it clear that prosecutors believe Ha's lobbying efforts were related to the KEB sale. Prosecutors are curious whether financial officials were lobbied in the process.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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