Hankook Tire declined to comment. Hankook was not able to provide details of Cho's lawyer.

Family-controlled Hankook Tire is one of the world's top 10 tyre makers, whose customers include Hyundai, Ford and Volkswagen.

A court in Seoul had issued the arrest warrant for Cho late on Thursday. Yonhap News Agency reported that prosecutors charged him with taking around 500 million won ($425,778.32) in kickbacks from suppliers and misappropriating funds at affiliates.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin. Editing by Keith Weir and Jane Merriman)