Cho Hyunbum, Chairman of Hankook & Company, Finalized Two-Year Prison Sentence as Supreme Court Dismisses Appeal
Convicted for Personal Use of Corporate Credit Card and Other Offenses
A two-year prison sentence has been finalized for Cho Hyunbum, chairman of Hankook & Company (formerly Hankook Tire Group), who was tried on charges of providing unfair support to affiliates and misappropriating company funds for personal use.
The First Division of the Supreme Court (presiding judge: Supreme Court Justice Ma Yongjoo) on May 8 upheld the previous court ruling that sentenced Chairman Cho to two years in prison for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust), among other charges.
Chairman Cho was indicted on three major charges. First, he was accused of instructing unfair support to an affiliate, Hankook Precision Works (MKT), a tire mold manufacturer, by purchasing tire molds at inflated prices, thereby causing financial losses to his company. Prosecutors viewed this process as allowing Chairman Cho and his family to reap unfair profits. Additionally, he was charged with causing damage by having funds lent from an affiliate to a company run by an acquaintance without reasonable debt collection measures. He was also accused of embezzling and misappropriating company assets amounting to approximately 20 billion won, including using a corporate credit card for personal expenses and receiving benefits such as imported cars and apartments free of charge.
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The courts of both the first and second instance found Chairman Cho guilty on charges including the personal use of a corporate card, payment of foreign car lease fees, and lending affiliate funds, sentencing him to two years in prison. However, for some charges—such as violations of the Fair Trade Act—they acquitted him due to lack of evidence or excluded these from the sentencing calculation. The Supreme Court found no legal errors in these prior judgments. The bench stated, "All appeals are dismissed," and ruled, "The conviction on part of Chairman Cho's charges is justified."
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