Confirmed Prison Sentence for Samyang Foods Chairman in 5 Billion Won Embezzlement Case

Supreme Court Sentences Chairman Jeon In-jang to 3 Years Imprisonment and Suspended Sentence for Wife

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Jeon In-jang, chairman of Samyang Foods, who was indicted on charges of embezzling about 5 billion won of company funds, was finally sentenced to prison.

The Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Jae-hyung) announced on the 21st that it upheld the original court ruling sentencing former chairman Jeon, who was tried on charges including embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, to three years in prison. Kim Jeong-su, president of Samyang Foods and wife of former chairman Jeon, who was tried together on the same charges, was also sentenced to two years in prison with a three-year probation. The court stated, "There is no error in the original judgment regarding the intent of embezzlement and the legal principles on unlawful gain, nor was there a failure to conduct necessary hearings, and the judgment did not exceed the limits of free evaluation of evidence contrary to logic and experience."

The former chairman and his wife were indicted without detention on charges of embezzling 4.9 billion won by fabricating that some of the packaging boxes and other items supplied from Samyang Foods affiliates between 2008 and 2017 were supplied by a paper company. The former chairman was also charged with breach of trust for causing damage by arranging for 2.95 billion won of affiliate funds to be lent to a subsidiary restaurant business that was in poor management due to business downturn.

The first trial recognized only the embezzlement charges against the former chairman and sentenced him to three years in prison. President Kim was sentenced to two years in prison with a three-year probation. The second trial upheld the same ruling. The second trial court stated, "As the chairman of a leading ramen manufacturer, he had the responsibility to operate the group according to sound corporate ethics, but he committed embezzlement and also misappropriated the embezzled funds for personal use such as car lease fees and home interior costs, which is highly condemnable." The former chairman and his wife appealed the second trial sentence, but the Supreme Court's ruling remained the same.

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