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Hyun Bum Cho, Chairman of Hankook Tire & Technology (Photo = Yonhap News Agency) |
[Alpha Biz= Ellie Kim] South Korea’s Supreme Court is set to deliver its final ruling on May 8 in the case involving Hyun Bum Cho, chairman of Hankook & Company Group, who faces charges of embezzlement and breach of fiduciary duty.
The Supreme Court’s First Division, led by Justice Ma Yong-ju, will hand down its decision at 10:30 a.m. on alleged violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
Cho was indicted for allegedly providing unfair support to affiliate Hankook Precision Works (MKT) by purchasing tire molds worth KRW 87.5 billion at inflated prices between 2014 and 2017. Prosecutors argued that the transactions caused losses of approximately KRW 13.1 billion to Hankook Tire & Technology and that the benefits flowed to Cho and his controlling family.
He is also accused of lending KRW 5 billion in company funds to a firm run by an acquaintance for personal purposes and misappropriating an additional KRW 2 billion.
In the first trial, the court found Cho guilty of improperly lending company funds and sentenced him to three years in prison, taking him into custody. It also convicted him of occupational breach of trust for personal use of corporate cards, estimating such use at KRW 580 million.
However, the court acquitted him of charges related to unfair support of MKT through overpriced mold purchases, as well as certain bribery and breach-of-trust allegations.
The appellate court overturned the guilty verdict on the loan of company funds, ruling that although the loan had a personal motive, it carried appropriate interest and did not violate procedural requirements. It reduced the sentence to two years in prison.
The appellate court upheld the conviction for misuse of corporate cards while maintaining acquittals on the MKT-related charges and certain bribery allegations.
Alphabiz Ellie Kim 인턴기자(press@alphabiz.co.kr)
