Ex-head of Tokyo Shogin branch indicted over embezzlement.

TOKYO, Sept. 25 Kyodo

Prosecutors on Tuesday indicted the former head of a branch of Tokyo Shogin, the failed credit union serving mainly pro-Seoul Korean residents in Japan, on charges of embezzling more than 100 million yen.

Choi Jin Myong, 50, who headed Tokyo Shogin's Ikebukuro branch, is charged with embezzling 101 million yen between January 1998 and March 2001.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office said he embezzled  the money by canceling savings accounts of clients without their approval and withdrawing money from the credit union, falsely claiming it would be used for money exchange at pachinko parlors.

The accused, whose Japanese name is Tatsuaki Sai, had allegedly borrowed some 10 million yen from a consumer credit company around 1992 to assist a client company which was about to dishonor bills.

Investigators believe Choi repeatedly misused the credit union funds in order to repay the debt. They also suspect that the accused invested the embezzled money in futures trading and used it for living expenses.

Kim Song Jung, 52, a former head of the Tokyo Shogin, was also arrested last week on suspicion of embezzling about 90 million yen from the union.

He is also suspected of playing a role in extending a massive amount of unlawful loans to a group of companies in Tokyo.

The Tokyo Shogin was the second-largest pro-Seoul Korean credit union in Japan, next to Osaka's Kansai Kogin. Along with Kansai Kogin, Tokyo Shogin folded in December last year because its liabilities exceeded assets.