Expensive Sofa Bought for Restaurant Business Kept at Owner’s Home... Namyang Dairy Products Suspected of Private Use of Company Funds

According to police and industry sources on the 3rd, Seoul Gangnam Police Station is investigating the former Namyang Dairy Products adviser identified by the surname initial Lee, the wife of former chairman Hong Won-sik, and the former Namyang Dairy Products executive identified by the surname initial Hong, his son, after booking them on suspicion of occupational breach of trust.

Police believe the two purchased a high-end sofa for approximately 154 million won in 2018 with company funds, purportedly to furnish a restaurant outlet being developed by Namyang Dairy Products, and then stored it at the former adviser Lee’s home.

The sofa is reportedly a product designed by Swiss architect and designer Pierre Jeanneret.

Police believe the sofa was purchased with Namyang Dairy Products’ funds and recorded as a company asset, but was never brought into or installed at an actual restaurant outlet. During the investigation, police reportedly found and secured the sofa at the former adviser Lee’s home.

Police are examining whether there was a genuine business need for the sofa at the time of purchase and the extent to which the former adviser Lee and the former executive Hong were involved in the purchasing decision. They are also investigating why the sofa, acquired as a company asset, was stored at a private residence rather than at a restaurant outlet, as well as its actual intended use.

Separately from this case, the former adviser Lee and the former executive Hong have been found guilty at trial of privately using tens of billions of won in Namyang Dairy Products funds.