S. Korea Detains L.A. Garment Buyer in Flare-Up Over Payment for Sweaters
A Los Angeles businesswoman is being detained and “held for ransom” in South Korea because of a longstanding dispute with an apparel maker over payments for a load of sweaters, her husband charged Friday.
U.S. officials in Seoul confirmed that Doris Waldman, 61, was barred from leaving the country last Saturday on suspicion of fraud because of a commercial transaction that went awry in January of last year. A criminal investigation could be under way that would take months to complete.
“This is a form of extortion--they’re holding her for ransom,” said Hal Waldman, her husband. “There’s no reason for them to hold an American citizen. She doesn’t even own the company in question, she only works for it as an employee.”
Her husband blames the unusual incident on recent trade tension between South Korea and the United States, which has occasionally taken on anti-American overtones in the South Korean public.
“This should have remained a simple commercial dispute between two companies, but they’ve made it into a political issue,” he said. “It’s appalling that my wife is caught in between.”
The U.S. Embassy in Seoul and Waldman’s lawyers have issued strong protests to the Seoul government, the Associated Press reported.
Waldman, a buyer for a small import concern, told the AP that the problems arose when Bookyung Trading Co. telexed her Aug. 30 in Taipei and asked her to stop in Seoul to examine samples of knitwear for export.
But when she arrived, Bookyung demanded $140,000 in payment for a disputed shipment of sweaters sent to Daddy’s Money of California, a small garment importer that she and her husband manage but do not own. The South Korean government prevented her from leaving the following day because of civil fraud charges brought by Bookyung, which can trigger a criminal prosecution under South Korean law.
Hal Waldman, contacted in Los Angeles, said the sweaters arrived four months late and lost most of their commercial value by missing the winter season and being outdated by seasonal changes in styles. He appraises the shipment as worth about $20,000 now and said discussions on a settlement with Bookyung have been ongoing for 18 months.
The Waldmans own a separate company, Miss Doris of California, which also imports garments from Asia but has no apparent connection to her detention. Doris Waldman has traveled throughout Asia as a buyer for both small firms for the past 15 years.
A U.S. official in Washington dismissed any linkage between Doris Waldman’s predicament and bilateral trade problems, such as South Korea’s resistance to agricultural imports,.
