Court Rejects Arrest Warrant for Former Hyundai AutoEver CEO Seo Jeong-sik... "Need to Guarantee Right to Defense"

"No Risk of Evidence Tampering or Escape"

The court dismissed the arrest warrant for Seo Jeong-sik, former CEO of Hyundai AutoEver, who is accused of receiving bribes worth around 800 million won from a partner company.

Seo Jeong-sik, former CEO of Hyundai AutoEver, who is accused of receiving bribes worth around 800 million won from a partner company in exchange for favors, is heading to the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul, on the morning of the 25th to undergo a pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant review). [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the afternoon of the 25th, Shin Young-hee, the judge in charge of the warrant review at the Seoul Central District Court, who handled the warrant review for former CEO Seo, accused of breach of trust and bribery, stated, "Since the criminal charges are disputed, it is necessary to guarantee the right to defense," and dismissed the prosecution's request for Seo's arrest warrant.

Judge Shin said, "Considering the evidence collected so far, the progress of the investigation, and the testimonies of related parties, it is difficult to conclude that there is a risk of evidence destruction," and added, "Given that the suspect has a fixed residence and has faithfully responded to summons and investigations by investigative agencies, it is also difficult to see a risk of flight."

Earlier, the Fair Trade Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Yong Seong-jin) requested an arrest warrant for former Hyundai AutoEver CEO Seo on charges including breach of trust and bribery.

According to the prosecution, from November 2018 to June last year, Seo, while serving as a senior executive at Hyundai Motor Company and CEO of Hyundai AutoEver, is accused of receiving economic benefits worth a total of about 800 million won, including being provided with corporate credit cards, from three individuals including representatives of partner companies in exchange for improper solicitations such as maintaining business relationships and facilitating deliveries.

The prosecution reportedly uncovered Seo's misconduct during an investigation into suspicions that KT Cloud purchased the vehicle cloud company Spark & Associates (Spark, now Open Cloud Lab) at a price higher than the normal market value.

At that time, KT Cloud acquired 100% of Spark's shares for 20.68 billion won, incorporated it as a subsidiary, and then changed the company name to Open Cloud Lab.

This raised suspicions that Hyundai Motor's purchase of shares in Airplug, a company founded by the twin brother of former KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo, in two rounds in 2019 and 2021, was a reciprocal investment, and that KT's acquisition of Spark was part of this arrangement.

Previously, in August last year, the prosecution conducted raids on the residence of former KT President Yoon Kyung-rim, KT headquarters, KT Cloud, Open Cloud Lab, and the residences of related persons, and in November last year, seized related materials from four locations including the residences of former CEO Seo and Spark officials.

The prosecution plans to analyze the reasons for the court's dismissal of the warrant, conduct supplementary investigations, and then decide on the direction of the investigation, including whether to reapply for the warrant.

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