As you have just seen, the Torch Foundation is estimated to have more than 200 billion won in assets identified so far. Former Chairman Soon-Young Choi said that the government took away the Shindong-A Group he had, but the Torch Foundation was a God-owned enterprise, so he couldn’t. Then we checked who the actual owner of this foundation is.
This is reporter Kwon Ji-yoon.
Former Chairman Soon-young Choi, who has not paid taxes over 100 billion won in additional fines of over 150 billion won after conviction,
[최순영/전 신동아그룹 회장 (2015년) : 김대중 정권 시절인데 느닷없이 하루아침에 저를 잡아다가 감옥에 집어넣고 63빌딩 할 거 없이 신동아그룹이 22개의 계열사를 가지고 있었는데, 그걸 몽땅 다 나라에서 가져가 버렸어요.]
The company was stolen, but the Torch Foundation was kept.
[최순영/전 신동아그룹 회장 (2015년) : 이건(횃불재단) 하나님의 기관이기 때문에 하나님이 이건 못 가져가게 막으신 거예요. 가끔 하나님께 불평을 합니다. 제 기업은 어떻게 다 뺏어가시고 하나님 기업만 남겨놓으십니까?]
Former Chairman Choi established the Torch Foundation in 1989 and served as the Chairman of the Board until 1999, before his arrest, followed by his wife, Hyung-Ja Lee, twice as Chairman, leading the Foundation to this day.
In the meantime, Pastor A took the position of chairman, and Pastor A met with reporters and said that the former President and Mrs. Choi asked for and accepted that they had only the name of the chairman and honorary positions.
At this time, it means that Lee Hyung-ja was actually running the foundation as a director, but in the end, for 32 years after the foundation was established, the former chairman and wife Choe played the main role.
In the foundation’s articles of association, the term of office for executives such as the chairman and directors is three years, but there is no regulation limiting the term of office and there is a method for selecting executives, but there is no method for selecting the chairman.
This is the reason why Mrs. Choi’s long-term power was possible.
The salary of the chairman that the reporters were able to check was 15 million won at the time in 2013 and over 180 million won by Chairman Lee Hyung-ja each year.
The chairman oversees the work of the foundation, and as the chairman of the board of directors, he can dispose of and acquire property, elect executives, and set the salary of his or her chairman.
[양봉식 목사/교회와 신앙 : (최순영·이형자 씨) 두 사람이 이사장을 교대로 하면서 결국에는 재단을 사유화했다고 볼 수 있습니다. 부부의 막강한 힘이 내부의 어떤 감시를 제대로 역할 할 수 없는, 그런 구조가 될 수밖에 없었던 거죠.]
This is why my husband, former chairman Choi and his two sons, were able to live in a luxury villa owned by the Foundation for free and continue their wealthy life.
However, former chairman Choi is holding on to the foundation’s assets, saying that he has no money to pay any additional fees or taxes.
The president of the company that created the foundation shows that even if the company goes bankrupt or does not pay a large amount of additional taxes and taxes, he can still live well and pass on wealth.If this behavior is left unattended, it will block economic interests and prevent crime. The value of the additional punishment system disappears.
(Video coverage: Moonsan Bae, video editing: Hongmyeong Lee, CG: Sungyong Hong·Jaeyoung Choi, screen source: YouTube CGNTV)
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Reporter Kwon Ji-yoon of the Panda Team is here until the end of this long-term coverage.
Q. If I endure “no money”, can’t I get a surcharge?
[권지윤 기자 : 네, 추징금은 타인에게 양도도, 상속도 되지 않는 일신전속입니다. 최순영 전 회장이 수입도 없고 본인 명의 재산도 없다고 납부를 버티다가 본인이 사망하면 그걸로 끝인 겁니다.]
Q. Is it possible to collect a collection against the Torch Foundation?
[권지윤 기자 : 재단 밑천을 최 전 회장이 댔고 여기에 불법 자금까지 흘러간 사실 전해드렸는데요. 이른바 전두환 추징법이라고 불리는 공무원 범죄 몰수법은 불법 재산임을 알고 취득한 제3자에 대해서 추징금을 집행할 수 있는데 경제사범에게 적용되는 법에는 이 조항이 없습니다. 설령 법이 개정돼도 소급이 어렵고 또 오랜 기간 재단 재산이 섞여 있다 보니까 어디까지를 추징 가능한 불법 재산으로 볼지 입증도 쉽지는 않습니다.]
Q. What are the measures to improve the supplementary punishment system?
[권지윤 기자 : 현행법상 추징금을 내지 않아도 아무런 제재 수단이 없습니다. 그래서 영국, 프랑스, 싱가포르처럼, 고의적인 추징금 미납자는 구금하거나 노역장에 유치하는, 이른바 자진 납부 유도 장치를 우리도 도입하자, 이런 의견이 있습니다. 입법 조사처도 이런 보고서를 내기도 했는데요. 기본권 침해 우려도 있지만 범죄자가 경제적 이득은 누리면서 추징금을 내지 않고 버티는 현실을 방치하는 것, 또 다른 범죄의 자양분이자 정의와 공정에 대한 시민들의 의식까지 떨어뜨릴 수 있으니 본격적인 논의가 필요해 보입니다.]
▶ [끝까지판다①] When I traced the property of the Torch Foundation… 200 billion units estimated
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