Prosecutors Raid Orion Group over Alleged Illegal Bond Deal

By Park Sae-jin Posted : March 23, 2011, 13:00 Updated : March 23, 2011, 13:00
South Korea’s prosecutors on Tuesday raided Orion Group, the nation’s major confectionery company, and its affiliates over its chairman’s alleged illegal transaction during the process of taking over large shares of an Orion subsidiary, Korea Herald reported.

Tam Chul-gon, 56, a son-in-law of late Orion founder Lee Yang-ho, is suspected of buying bonds with warrants issued by On Media, Orion’s media affiliate established in 2000 , at below-market prices. He also allegedly exercised his bond warrants in 2005 for 16,000 shares to rake in billions won profits, Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office said.

According to the Herald report, the company’s flagship snack, the “Choco Pie”, chocolate-dipped cookies with a marshmallow filling, has sold more than 12.1 billion pies around the world since hitting the market in the 1970s.


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