South Korea Company and Three U.S. Citizens Residing in South Korea Indicted for Violating Export License Laws

An indictment was returned by a federal grand jury sitting in Cleveland, Ohio, charging EO System Company, Ltd. and Seok Hwan Lee, Tae Young Kim, and Won Seung Lee, with five counts of knowingly and willfully exporting, causing to be exported, and aiding and abetting the export of defense articles on the U.S. Munitions List without first obtaining an export license or written authorization from the U.S. Department of State, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Field Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation.

EO System Company, Ltd. is, a corporation located in Inchon, Republic of Korea (South Korea), while Lee, Kim, and Lee are citizens and residents of South Korea.

“These defendants are charged with violating important regulations designed to protect national security,” Dettelbach said.

“The FBI and Department of Justice are committed to the protection of U.S. defense technology, particularly that which is governed by the International Trafficking in Arms Regulations,” Anthony said.

The indictment charges that on or about November 4, 2005, the defendants knowingly exported, caused to be exported, and aided and abetted the export from the United States to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) of five (5) DRS PN: 42-15-050-003, E3500 system 25.7 mm F/1.0 Telescopes, also described as Infra Red Focal Plane Array detectors and Infra Red camera engines, which were designated as defense articles on the United States Munitions List.

The indictment charges that the defendants did so without first obtaining an export license or written authorization for such export from the U.S. Department of State.

If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendants’ role(s) in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

In a related case, Kue Sang Chun, 67, of Avon Lake, Ohio, previously pleaded guilty to one count of exporting defense articles on the U.S. Munitions List without first obtaining an export license of written authorization from the State Department, and one count of knowingly making and subscribing a false U.S. individual income tax return.

He was sentenced to in November to 14 months in prision.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert W. Kern and Justin E. Herdman of the Cleveland U.S. Attorney’s Office, following an investigation by the Cleveland Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.