Prosecution Seeks 4-Year Prison Sentence for Cyworld CEO Over 'Wage Arrears'... "Will Ensure All Back Pay Is Paid"

Jeon Je-wan (57), CEO of Cyworld, is attending the sentencing hearing held at the Seoul Eastern District Court on the morning of the 23rd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The prosecution has requested a four-year prison sentence for Jeon Je-wan (57), CEO of Cyworld, who was brought to trial on charges of withholding employees' wages.

On the 23rd, the prosecution made this request to the court during the sentencing hearing of former CEO Jeon, held under the presiding judge Cho Guk-in of the Criminal Division 9 at the Seoul Eastern District Court.

Jeon was indicted on charges of violating the Labor Standards Act, including withholding approximately 1 billion KRW in salaries and severance pay from Cyworld employees.

In his final statement, Jeon said, "I am sorry to the employees for letting things come to this point," and added, "I will do my best until the end to revive Cyworld and pay the overdue wages."

Jeon's lawyer stated, "Currently, discussions are underway with a domestic company regarding the sale of Cyworld," and added, "If the company makes a final acquisition decision, it is expected that all withheld wages will be paid." He further requested, "Please consider that the defendant is sincerely remorseful and is making every effort to overcome the current crisis."

Cyworld was established in 1999 and led the heyday of social networking services (SNS) in the mid to late 2000s with its mini-homepages centered on individual accounts. However, it rapidly declined after foreign SNS platforms such as Twitter and Facebook entered the domestic market.

The court plans to consider the fact that some employees have submitted withdrawal of complaints and that there are additional wage arrears cases to be prosecuted when delivering the sentence. The sentencing date for former CEO Jeon has been set for August 20.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.