Prosecutors said they are considering nullifying the passport of Oh Deok-gyun, head of CNK International, in a bid to forcefully bring him back to Korea for questioning over a stock-rigging scandal.

Despite the prosecution’s request to return home, Oh is still believed to be staying in Cameroon. Oh is suspected of intentionally leading the Foreign Ministry to publish an exaggerated press release about a diamond mine’s reserves for which CNK won the mining rights. He is suspected of raking in about 80 billion won ($71,000) from overpriced stocks of CNK.

Oh left for Cameroon just before the financial regulator’s announcement of the investigation of CNK stock rigging allegations last month.

Under Korean law, the Foreign Ministry can nullify a person’s passport if the person is suspected of crimes that can lead to punishment of more than two years in prison.

Last month, the Financial Supervisory Service pressed charges against Oh for illegal stock trading, which can be punished by a maximum of 10 years in prison or 500 million won in fines.

If Oh’s passport is nullified, he will be an illegal alien in any country, which will force him to return home, prosecutors said.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)