'Overseas Account Reduction Report' Taepyeongyang Development Chairman Fined 2 Billion Won in Second Trial

Chairman Seo Young-bae of Taepyeongyang Development, accused of underreporting hundreds of billions of won held in overseas accounts
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Seo Young-bae, chairman of Taepyeongyang Development, who was sentenced to a fine of 500 million won in the first trial for underreporting hundreds of billions of won held in overseas accounts, had his sentence increased to a fine of 2 billion won in the second trial. Chairman Seo is the eldest son of Seo Seong-hwan, the founder of the Taepyeongyang Group, the predecessor of the cosmetics company Amorepacific.

On the 7th, the 4-2 Criminal Appeal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judges Lee Tae-woo, Lee Hoon-jae, Yang Ji-jung) sentenced Chairman Seo, who was indicted for violating the International Tax Adjustment Act, to a fine of 2 billion won. The court stated, "The defendant committed the crimes between 2015 and 2019, and was indicted separately by year," and "Considering the provision for increased punishment for concurrent offenses if indicted at once for five years of crimes, the original sentence was somewhat light."

Chairman Seo is accused of underreporting about 25.6 billion won in 2016 and about 26.5 billion won in 2017 when reporting money held in overseas accounts to the tax office. The first trial sentenced him to a fine of 500 million won, considering that he had already paid over 7.4 billion won in fines and administrative fines for himself and his spouse for previously sentenced offenses. He also has a history of being separately indicted and sentenced to fines for omissions in 2015, 2018, and 2019.

However, the second trial court judged that the fine of 500 million won imposed by the first trial was too light, considering the increased sentence that would apply if the previously sentenced offenses were tried together.

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