Kumho sibling feud reignited; conflict between Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo and his younger brother and Kumho Petrochemical Chairman Park Chan-koo, who have been at odds since they fought over who should manage the group

2014-02-04 16:40

Kumho sibling feud reignited

By Kim Tae-jong

The feud between two brothers of the Kumho family has been reignited, following the elder brother’s accusation Monday that his younger brother’s personal driver stole his private information.
The move is the latest development in the conflict between Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo and his younger brother and Kumho Petrochemical Chairman Park Chan-koo, who have been at odds since they fought over who should manage the group.
Kumho Asiana Group alleged that Chan-koo’s driver bribed an employee of a security company working for the group to have him steal information on the chairman.
The group argued that the employee took pictures of documents including the chairman’s personal schedule in his secretary’s office over 80 times from November 2011 and gave them to the driver.
“As there was circumstantial evidence that showed someone stole information from the secretary’s office, we launched an internal probe and secured evidence including CCTV footage, in which the employee from the security company sneaked into the office and secretly took pictures of documents,” an official from the group said.
The employee admitted that he was paid to do so by the driver, who he said gave the stolen information to Chan-koo, he said.
The group has asked the police to investigate the case to discover what information was stolen, whether it contained confidential information and who was behind the theft.
The group suspected that the stolen information was used to attack Sam-koo by his younger brother in an attempt to weaken his status in the group.
In response, Kumho Petrochemical said it is also investigating the case and will soon make an official statement.
“Our company has never ordered anyone to obtain information from Kumho Asiana Group,” the company said.
The Park family was long regarded as a role model in successfully and peacefully handing down the succession of power from the oldest to the youngest in the family.
But the two youngest and surviving brothers toppled the long-running tradition in 2009 when they engaged in a battle to secure more power over the group’s affiliates.
Later, Kumho Petrochemical along with Kumho Mitsui Chemicals and Kumho Polychem separated from the group.
But the two brothers did not stop their feud. In 2011, Kumho Petrochemical requested the Fair Trade Commission to separate Kumho Industrial and Kumho Tire from the Kumho Asiana Group.
In response, Kumho Asiana Group accused Chan-koo of embezzlement, breach of trust and insider trading when selling common shares of Kumho Industrial in 2013.