The fugitive tycoon who headed the company that ran the capsized ferry Sewol was found dead in South Korea, police said Tuesday.
Yoo Byung-eun was a billionaire long sought by the police in connection to the April 16 disaster where the Sewol capsized and sank, killing nearly 300 people. His body was discovered on June 12 lying in a field in the city of Suncheon, but it took weeks for forensic experts to be able to match his fingerprints because the body was decomposed beyond recognition, AFP reported.
Forensic analysis confirmed the body as Yoo's. A cause of death could not immediately be determined due to the decomposition, Suncheon Police Chief Woo Hyung-ho told AFP. Empty bottles of alcohol were found near the body.
"We do not know yet whether it was a homicide or suicide," Woo said. "We are hoping that more detailed forensic analysis will shed light on this and on the exact time of death."
Yoo led the family that controlled Chonghaejin Marine Co., which operated the Sewol ferry that sank on its way to a resort on Jeju island with 476 people onboard, mostly high school students. Thought 294 bodies were recovered, 10 victims remain unaccounted for, AFP reported.
The ferry operator went bankrupt in the late '90s, but Yoo's family kept running the business under the cloak of several other names, including one known as Chonghaejin, according to the Associated Press. His daughter was arrested in France in May. Police are still looking for his son and have offered a $100,000 bounty.
Yoo was also investigated for his suspected role in the mass suicide of 32 people in 1987. Rumors at the time suggested the victims belonged to a cult masquerading as a church. Members denied any link to the deaths and Yoo was never charged for the deaths.
Legal proceedings are being carried out for 139 people who were arrested in connection to the Sewol tragedy, including all 15 crew members, the AP reported.
