Due to the impact of COVID-19, the 'DLF Trial' is also delayed

Chairman Sohn Tae-seung's Second Hearing Postponed to March Next Year
Vice Chairman Ham Young-joo's First Hearing Delayed to Next Month

Reference image (Source=Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyo-jin] The trial for the cancellation of the 'DLF disciplinary action' lawsuit filed by Sohn Tae-seung, Chairman of Woori Financial Group, and Ham Young-joo, Vice Chairman of Hana Financial Group, against the Financial Supervisory Service Governor is being delayed due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to the financial sector and legal circles on the 19th, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 11 (Chief Judge Park Hyung-soon) postponed the second hearing of the first trial for Sohn’s lawsuit against Financial Supervisory Service Governor Yoon Seok-heon, which requests the cancellation of the disciplinary action (official warning) related to the overseas interest rate-linked derivative-linked fund (DLF) incident that caused massive principal losses, from the originally scheduled date of the 11th of this month to March 5th of next year, nearly a three-month delay.

The court reportedly made this decision in accordance with trial guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court recommended courts in the metropolitan area to operate trials flexibly by postponing or changing trial and execution dates for non-urgent cases due to the escalation of social distancing measures amid the third wave of COVID-19.

As a result, Sohn’s first trial will take about a year just to hold two hearing sessions. Sohn filed the DLF disciplinary cancellation lawsuit in March this year and simultaneously requested a suspension of the disciplinary action’s effect until the trial results are announced. The court accepted Sohn’s request for suspension of execution before starting the disciplinary cancellation lawsuit procedure.

The Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 5 (Chief Judge Park Yang-jun) also postponed the first hearing of Vice Chairman Ham, who received the same official warning as Sohn, from the originally scheduled date of the 17th of this month to January 28th of next year for the same reason. Ham filed the lawsuit in June this year. The court also accepted Ham’s request for suspension of the disciplinary action’s effect.

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