Nam Sang-Tae

In what seems a signal to maritime CEOs in Africa and other parts of the word as the steer maritime operations in their respective states, former Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering  (DSME) boss, Nam Sang-taehas been sentenced to six years in prison by a Korean court for embezzlement and bribery.

The Seoul Central District Court handed down the guilty verdict to Nam Sang-tae, 67, convicting him of accounting fraud, embezzlement, breach of duty and bribery. The court also ordered him to forfeit 880 million won (US$806,000).

The court said declared that “The defendant neglected his responsibility as the chief of Daewoo Shipbuilding and sought his personal gains using his authority and power. To that end, Daewoo was stripped of its chance to overcome the industrial slowdown that had hit the whole sector, causing damage to be passed onto the public and the state.”

Daewoo Shipbuilding is 57 percent owned by the state-run lender Korea Development Bank (KDB). Over 11 trillion won worth of taxpayer money has been injected to salvage the firm from cash crunch between 2015 and last year.

Nam was indicted in January on charges of incurring some 12.5 billion won in losses for the shipyard that he headed from 2006-2012 by purchasing a major stake in a heavy industry firm at a value three times higher than market price.

He also stands accused of causing financial damage to Daewoo by clinching deals with people who had ties with his acquaintances without thorough evaluations. He is also accused of lobbying a former KDB head seeking to extend his term as Daewoo’s chief.