Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyunjoon Receives Suspended Sentence, Group's Legal Risks Resolved

Supreme Court: Not Guilty of "Art Transaction Breach of Trust," Guilty Only of "Embezzlement"
Final Suspended Prison Sentence After 7 Years and 9 Months
"We Respect the Decision... Will Focus on Global Management"

Cho Hyun-joon, chairman of Hyosung Group, who was put on trial on charges of embezzling company funds, has received a final sentence of imprisonment with a suspended sentence, effectively bringing Hyosung Group's legal risks to a close. This comes seven years and nine months after he was indicted in January 2018.

On October 16, Hyosung Group stated, "We respect the Supreme Court's decision," and added, "We will focus on global management to overcome the challenging domestic and international economic environment and contribute to the national economy." The First Division of the Supreme Court (Presiding Justice Noh Tae-ak) on this day upheld the previous court ruling, which sentenced Chairman Cho, who was indicted without detention on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, to two years in prison with a three-year suspended sentence.

In 2018, Cho Hyun-joon, chairman of Hyosung Group, is responding to questions from reporters before appearing at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

The Supreme Court found Chairman Cho not guilty of all charges related to breach of trust involving art transactions, and agreed with the appellate court's conclusion that only the embezzlement charge-specifically, the misappropriation of approximately 1.6 billion won through false salary payments-was valid. As a result, both Chairman Cho's and the prosecution's appeals were dismissed. With this Supreme Court decision, Chairman Cho has avoided serving an actual prison sentence.

Currently, Chairman Cho is visiting Tokyo, Japan. He is attending an economic dialogue event with key business figures from Korea, the United States, and Japan, as well as participating in exchange activities organized by the Federation of Korean Industries. Both inside and outside Hyosung Group, there is speculation that with the resolution of legal risks following the Supreme Court's decision, Chairman Cho will focus even more on addressing global issues and strengthening overseas networks.