Apparently, envelopes full of money were too old-fashioned for these guys. Board of Inspection and Audit recommended Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to sack Kim Eun-Seok, Ambassador for Energy and Resources.
The story goes back to 2010, when a Korean company called CNK International, who claimed that they discovered a massive amount of diamond in a mine in Cameroon, over which CNK had the mining right. Kim Eun-Seok composed two press releases on CNK’s behalf, touting the discovery and claiming that Cameroonian government officially certified the amount. CNK’s stock shot up, and people who owned the CNK shares — which includes Kim Eun-Seok’s brothers, secretary, staffers, etc. — made a handsome profit. The president of CNK earned $51 million (assuming $1 = KRW 1,000), and Kim Eun-Seok’s brothers earned $20,000.
But, as it turns out, the real amount of diamonds buried in the mine was 1/17 of what was claimed, and there was no certification from the Cameroonian government. In addition to recommending Kim Eun-Seok to be sacked, BIA also turned over evidence to the Prosecutor’s Office that Park Yeong-Joon, former Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy, and Jo Joong-Pyo, former assistant to the Prime Minister, were also involved in the scheme.
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Can I interest you in some Bre-X stock?
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