IBK Bank has reported a financial incident involving a semiconductor company amounting to 9.44 billion won, revealing a significant deterioration in the firm's financial status. The company recorded a net loss of approximately 19.7 billion won last year, and its credit rating has also declined. Concerns have been raised regarding IBK's loan management practices, particularly its failure to adequately verify the management history of companies with past financial incidents and its assessment of loan procedures following the incident.
On October 8, Shin Dong-wook, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee from the People Power Party, disclosed information received from IBK Bank. The bank announced the financial incident related to the semiconductor company, referred to as Company A, on August 20. The incident involved 7.44 billion won in loans and 2 billion won in equity investment.
According to an internal report from IBK Bank, Company A's net profit plummeted from approximately 4 billion won in 2024 to a net loss of about 19.7 billion won last year. During the same period, its revenue decreased from 36.8 billion won to 35.1 billion won. The credit rating fell from AA- in 2024 to BB+e this year.
The CEO of Company A is under police investigation for allegedly embezzling facility funds from the Korea Development Bank through financial statement manipulation and submitting false tax invoices. However, these allegations are still under investigation and have not been confirmed.
The loan assessment process at IBK Bank is also under scrutiny. The CEO of Company A previously served as the president of Company B, which was found to have inflated export prices and transaction records in 2017. At that time, IBK Bank held a 4.53% stake in Company B, with a risk exposure of about 20 billion won.
While IBK's investment analysis report for Company A mentioned the CEO's experience at Company B, it did not verify the financial incidents or management history of the previous company. Instead, the report positively evaluated the CEO's technical skills and mass production experience, citing the growth in Company A's revenue and operating profit as key investment factors.
Following the financial incident, IBK Bank's internal review has sparked controversy. On September 4, the bank concluded that there were no irregularities in the loan procedures based on the external auditor's opinion and the consistency of the disclosed data with the bank's internal records. However, a separate review of the 2 billion won equity investment's assessment and execution process was not conducted.
It is important to note that the reported financial incident amount does not necessarily reflect the actual loss. Internal documents from IBK Bank indicate that the related loans and investment assets were still in normal transactions at the time of the review. The actual loss may vary depending on the outcome of the investigation and the company's financial status.
Shin stated, "Given the gaps revealed from the verification of the CEO's past management history to the internal review following the financial incident, I will thoroughly examine IBK Bank's internal controls and management responsibilities regarding loan and investment assessments during this National Assembly audit."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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