First Trial of the 'Timeff Incident'... Court Says "Do Not Consider Trial Delay for Gu Young-bae"

The court handling the large-scale unsettled payment case involving TMON and WEMAKEPRICE (Timep) warned Koo Young-bae, CEO of Qoo10 Group, saying, "If there is an intention to delay, it is not desirable."

Koo Young-bae, CEO of Qoo10 Group. Photo by Yonhap News

On the morning of the 22nd, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 24 (Chief Judge Choi Kyung-seo) held the first pretrial hearing for Koo and 10 others indicted on charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust).

At the hearing, Ryu Hwa-hyun, CEO of WEMAKEPRICE, appeared in person, while Koo and Ryu Kwang-jin, CEO of TMON, were absent. The pretrial hearing is a session to organize the issues and evidence before the formal trial, so the defendant is not obligated to appear in court.

The court pointed out that Koo's side had not applied for record inspection and copying. When Koo's defense attorney said, "We have not applied because it has not been decided whether to take the case," the court said, "You are currently retained, and the indictment was in December. Shouldn't you have applied for inspection and copying?" and added, "If there is an intention to delay, it is not desirable."

Also, the court said, "It seems that Koo Young-bae himself submitted today's request for a change of hearing date and is responding passively," and criticized, "If the attorney is currently in charge, basic matters should be handled."

The court instructed the defense attorney, saying, "Please convey this to Koo Young-bae. He is the key defendant, and it is not appropriate to wait because of issues with attorney appointment," and "There should be no delay because of him. Please actively engage."

Koo is accused of conspiring with CEOs Ryu Hwa-hyun and Ryu Kwang-jin to embezzle approximately 1.85 trillion won in seller settlement payments from TMON and WEMAKEPRICE (fraud), and embezzling about 100 billion won from affiliates such as TMON and WEMAKEPRICE under the pretext of loans or consulting fees. He is also charged with breach of trust for conspiring with the two CEOs to cause a total loss of 72.7 billion won to TMON, WEMAKEPRICE, and Interpark Commerce by funneling work to the logistics subsidiary Qxpress for its NASDAQ listing.

The second pretrial hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. on March 18. The first trial date is April 8.

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