Thái tử gia tộc gắn liền với thảm họa chìm phà năm 2014 bị dẫn độ về Hàn Quốc

The businessman, Yoo Hyuk-kee, 50, also known as Keith Yoo, arrived in South Korea on Friday morning and was taken into custody (bị giam). He faces trial on seven counts (tội danh) of embezzlement; since 2020, he had been held without bond in New York State, where he lived for years.

A company controlled by Mr. Yoo’s family, the Chonghaejin Marine Company, operated the Sewol ferry, which capsized (lật) off the southwestern coast of South Korea in April 2014. Most of those who died were teenagers on a school trip, and the disaster (thảm họa) traumatized (làm bị chấn thương) the country.

The ferry was dangerously overloaded and top-heavy, and some crew members said after the sinking that they had never been trained in what to do in an emergency situation (tình huống khẩn cấp). South Korea’s Coast Guard (phòng vệ bờ biển) was late to the scene and poorly prepared to help when it arrived.

Prosecutors say that members of the Yoo family embezzled $169 million from a family-run church (nhà thờ) and from companies related to their business empire (đế chế). They say the thefts diverted funds that the Chonghaejin Marine Company would have spent on safety measures, thereby contributing to the ferry disaster.