The household brand names that helped build up one of Asia's tiger economies from post-war poverty are now being blamed for ushering in a Financial crisis in 1997 which forced the nation to accept a $58.35 billion International Monetary Fund bail-out.

Their leaders are now facing humiliation as the government takes action against prominent business owners in a push for more transparent and efficient corporate management.

The latest in the series came on Wednesday, when the head of South Korea's sixth largest conglomerate, Hanjin Group, was summoned for questioning over alleged tax evasion.

Analysts said the stream of government crackdowns underscored President Kim Dae-jung's commitment to end illegal practices by diversified business empires known locally as chaebol.

"The government feels that chaebol have been a part of the problem that led to financial crisis and has strong intentions to rein in the power of chaebol," said Edward Campbell-Harris, branch manager and director of Jardine Fleming Securities.

"The government wants to give a strong message to them that they can't carry on with their old ways," he said.

Wednesday's questioning of the Hanjin chief came just days after the head of South Korea's Hyundai Securities, Lee Ik-chi, was sentenced to a suspended two-year prison term for stock trading violations.

The investigation had forced Hyundai Group co-chairman Chung Mong-hun to appear at the prosecutor's office for questioning. Hyundai is the country's largest chaebol.

Daewoo Group, the second biggest, is being dismantled under severe financial strain.

The group's chairman Kim Woo-choong, one of the country's most prominent businessmen, had to tender his resignation last week after building the company from scratch 32 years ago.

In another high-profile scandal, president of the Joongang Ilbo newspaper and the largest shareholder of Bokwang Group, Hong Seok-hyun, was arrested in October on charges of tax evasion and misuse of company funds.

Hong was the brother-in-law of Lee Kun-hee, the chairman of Samsung Group Bokwang Group was spun off from Samsung in April.

Lee Jeong-ja, head of research at HSBC Securities, said the government was taking a string of unprecedented actions to rewrite the rules of Korea's corporate culture.

"The previous administrations have traditionally turned a blind eye to chaebol's misbehaviour for political or other reasons," she said.

Hanjin Group founder and honorary chairman Cho Choong-hoon, 79, was summoned on Wednesday morning for questioning over alleged tax evasion by the group's affiliates, an official at the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office said.

The summons came after Cho's two sons, Cho Yang-ho,chairman of the group's flagship Korean Air Lines, and Cho Su-ho, president for Hanjin Shipping, were called in for interrogation over the same allegations earlier this week.The country's tax office had slapped on a record 542billion won ($458 million) penalty and filed a tax evasion complaint against Korean Air, Hanjin Shipping and the Cho family.

The official remained tight-lipped about details of the probe and said it would be too soon to say when any of them would be charged.

Officials at Hanjin Group declined to comment on the probe.On Wednesday, shares in Korean Air closed down 400 won to17,800, while Hanjin Shipping lost 650 won to 10,800.