Chairman Lee Byeongcheol of Daol Financial Group Questioned as Suspect Over Alleged Indirect Support for Affiliate

Liquidity Crisis Sparked by "Legoland Incident"
Suspected Illegal Diversion of 300 Billion Won from Daol Savings Bank

Byeongcheol Lee, Chairman of Daol Financial Group, appeared before the police as a suspect regarding allegations that he attempted to use funds illegally taken from Daol Savings Bank to resolve a liquidity crisis at Daol Investment & Securities.

On August 12, the Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency summoned Chairman Lee and is conducting an investigation related to alleged violations of the Mutual Savings Bank Act.

The police are investigating suspicions that, after Daol Investment & Securities faced a liquidity crisis in October 2022 due to the so-called "Legoland incident," approximately 300 billion won in assets were transferred from its subsidiary, Daol Savings Bank, to address the situation.

Exterior view of Daol Investment & Securities Yeouido Building. Daol Investment & Securities

Chairman Lee is the largest shareholder of Daol Investment & Securities, the apex of Daol Financial Group’s governance structure. Under current law, the Mutual Savings Bank Act restricts savings banks from providing credit directly to major shareholders or their specially related parties.

The police conducted a search and seizure of both Daol Investment & Securities and Daol Savings Bank in March, and executed an additional search and seizure on July 2. The investigative team has been analyzing the collected materials.

Meanwhile, it is reported that the investigation began after the Financial Supervisory Service notified the authorities of alleged legal violations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.