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SK Global finance chief quits
SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) -- A top official at South Korea's SK Global Co quit over an accounting scandal on Monday as the company revealed another $400 million of debt and braced for the start of a fraud trial of executives at its parent group. Trading of shares in SK Global was suspended at the start of the day after an independent auditor said the trading firm's debt had exceeded its assets by 212.8 billion won ($169.2 million) at end-2002. SK Global announced the resignation of Chief Financial Officer Moon Duk-kyu at an annual meeting of shareholders, saying he was taking the blame for the company's troubles. The disclosure of a $1.2 billion accounting fraud at the unit of South Korea's fourth largest conglomerate has rocked financial markets for weeks and led to a massive bailout by SK Global's creditors. A spokesman for SK Global said an additional 500 billion won of debt revealed on Monday was the result of a more conservative book-keeping policy on long-term trade receivables. A trial of 10 top SK Group executives, including Chairman Son Kil-seung, charged with the accounting fraud and illegal stock transactions is due to start later on Monday. Creditors have agreed to a three-month reprieve on 6.7 trillion won of SK Global's debt payments to prevent the company from defaulting and help it focus on restructuring. Main creditor Hana Bank said on Monday representatives of local creditors would meet with overseas lenders in Tokyo on April 8 to ask them to help roll over the debt of the beleaguered company. SK Global said it had posted a net loss of 296.7 billion won in 2002, revising its previously announced 194 billion won net profit. Shares in SK Global closed at 4,000 won on Friday, the last day of trade before the suspension. Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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