Hanjin Issues Fake Tax Invoices for False Transactions... 100 Million Won Fine

Hanjin Co., Ltd., a logistics affiliate of Hanjin Group, was sentenced to a fine of over 100 million won after being prosecuted for issuing fake tax invoices by creating a false transaction structure to maintain asphalt business transaction records.

According to the legal community on the 1st, the Criminal Division 23 of the Seoul Central District Court (then presiding judge Jo Byung-gu) recently sentenced Hanjin employee A (50), who was indicted for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, to one year in prison with a two-year probation, and imposed a fine of 100 million won on Hanjin, which was tried together under the joint penalty provision.

Hanjin started its asphalt export business in 2007 by purchasing asphalt from domestic oil refiners and signing an export cooperation contract entrusting company B with sales brokerage and transportation to China. Later, as it became difficult to purchase asphalt volumes from domestic oil refiners, the business structure was changed from 2014 to 2016 to purchase asphalt from affiliates of company B and resell it to company B’s affiliates.

A, who was in charge of export operations, was prosecuted for issuing or receiving false tax invoices worth a total of 118 billion won by fabricating the supply or receipt of asphalt to or from company B’s affiliates during this process.

Hanjin claimed that it made efforts to sell the asphalt purchased from company B’s affiliates to Chinese buyers but, as it was difficult, it inevitably resold the asphalt to company B’s affiliates to reduce inventory costs while accumulating transaction records, and that there was no intention to conduct fictitious transactions.

However, the court ruled, "There is no concrete evidence to believe that Hanjin made separate efforts to secure Chinese buyers."

It added, "According to Hanjin’s claim, it purchased asphalt from company B’s affiliates without even searching for Chinese buyers for future exports. It is unreasonable in common sense that Hanjin, which does not have separate asphalt storage tank facilities, purchased tens of billions of won worth of asphalt without securing sales outlets."

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