Vietnamese director accused of stealing from Korean boss

Police in the central city on Tuesday arrested Do Thi Ha Xuyen, 36, a resident in Cam Le District, to investigate her for embezzlement.

According to the police, in 2016, Lee Hoon Bok, a South Korean man who is now 54, established two companies in Da Nang.

He then appointed Xuyen as the legal representative and director of one of those companies, which is located in Da Nang.

Later, due to his frequent absence from Vietnam, Lee appointed Xuyen as the executive director of the other company as well.

Accordingly, Xuyen had the authority to sign off on transactions with banks, customs departments, and other local authorities.

She regularly sent expenditure reports in Korean and bank statements in Vietnamese via emails to Lee.

However, from September 2020 to May 2023, Xuyen, noticing Lee's lack of financial oversight, allegedly withdrew company funds for personal investments in real estate and cryptocurrencies, among others.

To deceive Lee, Xuyen altered cash and bank account figures to match the amounts reported in her weekly updates.

The total amount embezzled from the two companies at the time of discovery exceeded VND4.6 billion, police said.