KCC Chairman Chung Mong-jin Denies Charges at First Trial Over 'Nominee Company Omission'

Jung Mong-jin, Chairman of KCC

Jung Mong-jin, chairman of KCC, appeared in court on the 27th for his first trial. The charge is violation of the Fair Trade Act. Chairman Jung is accused of violating the Fair Trade Act by omitting information about nominee companies and family-owned companies when reporting to the Fair Trade Commission.

At the first hearing held that morning under the presiding of Judge Yang Eun-sang of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 18, Chairman Jung's side denied the charges. The defense attorney stated, "Violation of the Fair Trade Act requires intent for punishment, but the defendant's position is that there was no intent." The defense also requested three witnesses, saying, "We want to prove the not guilty position through testimony."

Considering Chairman Jung's status as a corporate head, the defense also requested a swift trial. The defense said, "Considering the defendant's circumstances, which make multiple court appearances difficult, we hope that the examination of the three witnesses can be conducted on the same day," and added, "If possible, we would like the documentary evidence examination to be conducted on the same day as the witness examination." Chairman Jung's side also expressed an opinion that they consider the defense concluded after the examination.

The prosecution partially agreed with the defense's position on the trial process but expressed the need for defendant examination after the witness examination. The prosecution stated, "If Chairman Jung denies intent as the defense claims, it is necessary to proceed with defendant examination based on the contents derived from the witness examination." However, Chairman Jung's side opposed the defendant examination. They said, "This case has been sufficiently investigated, and the prosecution filed a summary indictment which was referred to a formal trial," adding, "Given the nature of the case, it is questionable whether direct examination of the defendant by the prosecution is necessary."

Regarding the conflicting opinions on defendant examination, the court, considering that the investigation of Chairman Jung was conducted through documentary evidence, permitted the prosecution's direct examination. The timing was also decided to proceed after the witness examination according to the prosecution's opinion. The court decided to conduct the documentary evidence examination, which confirms the contents of the admitted evidence, on the same day as the witness examination as requested by the defense, and set the next hearing date for December 13.

Earlier, Chairman Jung was accused of omitting information about nine suppliers wholly owned by nominee companies and relatives when submitting materials for designation as a large business group in 2016-2017. Due to the omission, KCC was excluded from the large business group subject to restrictions on cross-shareholding. The Fair Trade Commission reported Chairman Jung to the prosecution last month, concluding that he was aware of the false submission, and the prosecution requested a summary order of a 100 million won fine on the 4th of this month. However, the court judged that a formal trial was necessary and referred the case to trial ex officio.

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