An influential follower of the cult led by Yoo Byung-eon, the de facto owner of ferry operator Chonghaejin Marine, turned herself in to authorities on Friday. She is suspected of a key role in helping Yoo evade capture.

The 64-year-old, identified only by her surname Shin, is the wife of a wealthy businessman.

Accompanied by a lawyer, Shin walked into the prosecutors' office in Suwon and was later transferred to the Incheon office, which is in charge of the investigation. She told prosecutors she had been in hiding for some time but could bear it no longer when she saw so many people arrested as the investigation intensified.

Prosecutors want to know whether Shin was also instrumental in helping the Yoo family amass their fortune and evade arrest. Some prosecutors worry that Shin's dramatic surrender is a diversionary tactic.

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http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/06/16/2014061601689.html

Prosecutors in Incheon who are investigating corruption charges against fugitive ferry owner Yoo Byung-eon and his family have applied for court approval to seize an additional W21.3 billion worth of their assets (US$1=W1,022).

Earlier, prosecutors froze W16.1 billion worth of assets belonging to Yoo and his family. The total amount of seized assets would account for 15.5 percent of the W240 billion they are accused of embezzling.

Among the additional assets prosecutors seek to freeze are 224 apartment units in Anseong south of Seoul valued at W19.9 billion and registered in the names of followers of Yoo's cult. They also include 16 properties registered to Yoo's eldest son, Dae-kyun, valued at W1.3 billion, as well as Mercedes Benz sedans and imported vans valued at W34 million.

A prosecution spokesman said 20 artworks and 122 antique watches on display at Yoo Dae-kyun's restaurant are also included, but their exact value is uncertain.

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/06/17/2014061701832.html

The search for Yoo Byung-eon, the fugitive owner of the ferry that sank on April 16, is gaining momentum with the arrest of a string of his relatives and close confidants.

Prosecutors have accused his confidants of aiding the escape of a criminal, but his family members have only been charged with embezzlement and breach of trust.

So far, nine of Yoo’s confidants have been arrested, most of them members of the Salvationist cult he leads, and five of his family members including his wife Kwon Yun-ja and brothers Yoo Byung-il and Byung-ho.

Family members of a felon cannot be arrested for aiding his or her escape. Under Korea's criminal law, any individual hiding or aiding the escape of a criminal faces up to three years in prison, but a special clause waives the law from being applied to kin. Experts say the clause was created due to an understanding of the strong family bonds in Korean society.

However, under a court precedent Yoo's family can be charged with inciting a third person to aid his escape and to hide him. The law takes an entirely different view if a family member of a criminal acts through a third person.

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/06/27/2014062702922.html

Interesting, I had no idea about this law even after being in Korea for 10 years.

Heaven's Rapist??
http://jmscult.com/forum/index.php

That is offensive. I hope they catch the guy.

Are they holding the entire family liable?

It is interesting to see SK go after corruption in such an aggressive manner and seizing assets. That would certainly take the wind out of the sails of our high rolling crooks here.

Or is it revenge for all of those deaths, even if they didn't cause it directly?

Although I suspect that their business model likely did, but why weren't the ferry boats regulated better?

Do you think it's a CYA by the government there?

The government should be taking a lot of the blame as well as the system was "self-regulated". Well we know what happens when business is allowed to make their own regulations. I think revenge is a factor in that people are pissed off that their sons and daughters are dead.

As for the family, I think many of them were involved in some way or another so they are holding them indirectly accountable. Based on my understanding, this is all being used as leverage to get the one guy at the top of the food chain. They are hoping eventually he'll either be found or turn himself in. They have military and police out looking for this guy. I have rarely seen this much effort put out to catch one guy in Korea. Unless he escaped on a boat (which would be possible with as much money as that family has), they'll find him eventually.