SUNCHEON, South Korea - South Korea's most wanted man evaded arrest by hiding behind the wall of a wooden cabin with suitcases containing $970,800 at hand, prosecutors said Wednesday. The body of Yoo Byung-un, 73, wanted in connection with the sinking of a ferry in April, was found in a plum orchard last month but only identified this week. He was lying next to a copy of a book he had written and an empty bottle of shark-liver-oil health tonic.
Thousands of police had combed the country looking for a man who co-founded a church, held an exhibition of photographs at the Louvre in Paris and did jail time for fraud. Yoo headed the family that owned the company that operated the Sewol, a ferry that capsized on April 16 on a journey to the holiday island of Jeju, killing about 300 people. Police raided the two-story cabin on May 25 but failed to find the multi-millionaire, who was hiding behind a wooden wall. The ferry disaster triggered outrage across the country. Authorities had offered a reward equivalent to nearly $500,000 for information leading to Yoo's arrest and detained several family members.
IN-DEPTH
- 'Unfair Deaths': Ferry Survivors Demand Answers
- Billionaire's 'Cult' Compound Stormed in S. Korea Ferry Case
- Tears Flow as Ferry Survivors Return to School
