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| Yang Jin-ho, chief of WeDisk and also of robot developer Hankook MiraeTechnology, is taken to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency in Suwon, Wednesday. Yonhap |
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| Yonhap |
By Kim Rahn
Police detained Yang Jin-ho, CEO of Hankook Mirae Technology and several other IT companies, Wednesday, for alleged bullying and abuse of employees.
They did so after concluding he was unlikely to appear for questioning voluntarily, as he has virtually disappeared since the allegations emerged earlier last week.
They apprehended him at a studio apartment in Bundang, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, at around 12:10 p.m., after obtaining a detention warrant from a local court the previous day. He was taken to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency for questioning.
At the police agency, Yang told reporters, "I admit my wrongdoing. I sincerely apologize for angering the public."
In the warrant request, the police, backed by the prosecution, stated a fresh allegation that he used illegal drugs.
The police action came eight days after a disclosure of video clips which showed him physically assaulting a former employee and abusing current workers.
In one clip, he slaps and curses the former employee in the face and forces him to kneel and apologize in an office because he posted a critical comment on the online bulletin board of WeDisk, one of Yang's companies.
In another, he shoots a live chicken with a crossbow and orders employees to do the same and kill the animal with a sword during a company workshop.
The police searched Yang's home and offices last Friday, and seized the crossbow, arrows and the sword as evidence, as well as computer files. They conducted an additional search Wednesday.
Besides the abuse suspicions, Yang has been under investigation for allegations that he masterminded the sharing of spycam porn and other illegally taken sex videos on WeDisk and Filenori, online file sharing sites operated by his companies.
"We plan to seek an arrest warrant after comprehensively reviewing multiple allegations against him," a police officer said.
