Police investigating a massive embezzlement scandal at Osstem Implant, a dental implant maker, have secured gold bars worth 68 billion won that a company employee allegedly bought with the embezzled funds.

In a Wednesday briefing, the police said they have identified how the full embezzled sum of 188 billion won was used.

They said they retrieved a total of 855 one-kilogram gold bars in search and seizures of the employee's family residences, including 100 found earlier Wednesday at his sister's home.

According to officers, the employee surnamed Lee used most of the money to invest in stocks and incurred losses of 76 billion won, while 25 billion won in unsold shares are frozen in his accounts.

Osstem Implant earlier filed charges against Lee saying he embezzled 221 billion won in company funds from 2020 to last year. He was taken into custody last Wednesday and formally arrested on Saturday.