Hyundai Chairman Indicted
01-16-2007, 10:19 AM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2006
Location: minnesota
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
SEOUL, South Korea - Prosecutors demanded a six-year prison term against Hyundai Motor Co. Chairman Chung Mong-koo for embezzlement and other charges Tuesday, adding to the woes of the largest South Korean automaker.
ADVERTISEMENT
Chung, 68, has been on trial since June on charges of illegally raising a slush fund from affiliates from which authorities say he spent 69.3 billion won (US$74 million, euro57 million) for private and other purposes, including payments to lobbyists for government favors.
He has also been charged with inflicting financial damage on affiliates through questionable deals and arrangements that allegedly protected or boosted the financial interests of him and his son, Eui-sun, who heads Kia Motors Corp., the country's second-largest carmaker. The younger Chung doesn't face trial.
"It's unavoidable to seriously punish the defendants ... because the crimes in this case are grave," lead prosecutor Lee Dong-ryol said at the trial, which also included other company officials.
Chung Mong-koo apologized and pledged to make Hyundai the world's No. 5 automaker if given the chance. Hyundai and affiliate Kia Motors combined currently rank sixth.
"I'm sorry for causing trouble over this case," he told the court.
Chung's defense lawyers called for leniency and asked for a suspended sentence in light of their client's health and the effects his conviction would have on Hyundai and the entire nation's economy.
Hyundai and Kia account for more than 70 percent of South Korea's automobile exports. Autos account for about 10 percent of South Korea's total exports.
It was unclear how the judges at Seoul Central District Court would rule. But South Korean courts have often come under public criticism for being too lenient on business tycoons after they sentenced high-profile chief executives to suspended jail terms in similar corruption cases.
The verdict and sentencing was scheduled Feb. 5.
Chung has been out on bail since late June after two months of detention following his April arrest.
The trial has cast a cloud over the company, which also is suffering from a row with its militant labor union that intensified this week with new strikes.
Unionized workers laid down tools for a total of eight hours at three factories Monday in a dispute with management over the size of a bonus payment. Though workers will not strike Tuesday, they have scheduled a longer walkout Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Hyundai Motor President Youn Yeo-chul was meeting with the head of a labor union to discuss how to end the partial walkout, the company said.
Labor troubles are a near-constant headache for Hyundai. Through 2006, Hyundai's union has gone on strike every year but one since it was established in 1987.
Public sentiment has turned against the union, with local media accusing union workers of selfishness at a time when their company is struggling with the strengthening Korean currency that hurts exporters.
ADVERTISEMENT
Chung, 68, has been on trial since June on charges of illegally raising a slush fund from affiliates from which authorities say he spent 69.3 billion won (US$74 million, euro57 million) for private and other purposes, including payments to lobbyists for government favors.
He has also been charged with inflicting financial damage on affiliates through questionable deals and arrangements that allegedly protected or boosted the financial interests of him and his son, Eui-sun, who heads Kia Motors Corp., the country's second-largest carmaker. The younger Chung doesn't face trial.
"It's unavoidable to seriously punish the defendants ... because the crimes in this case are grave," lead prosecutor Lee Dong-ryol said at the trial, which also included other company officials.
Chung Mong-koo apologized and pledged to make Hyundai the world's No. 5 automaker if given the chance. Hyundai and affiliate Kia Motors combined currently rank sixth.
"I'm sorry for causing trouble over this case," he told the court.
Chung's defense lawyers called for leniency and asked for a suspended sentence in light of their client's health and the effects his conviction would have on Hyundai and the entire nation's economy.
Hyundai and Kia account for more than 70 percent of South Korea's automobile exports. Autos account for about 10 percent of South Korea's total exports.
It was unclear how the judges at Seoul Central District Court would rule. But South Korean courts have often come under public criticism for being too lenient on business tycoons after they sentenced high-profile chief executives to suspended jail terms in similar corruption cases.
The verdict and sentencing was scheduled Feb. 5.
Chung has been out on bail since late June after two months of detention following his April arrest.
The trial has cast a cloud over the company, which also is suffering from a row with its militant labor union that intensified this week with new strikes.
Unionized workers laid down tools for a total of eight hours at three factories Monday in a dispute with management over the size of a bonus payment. Though workers will not strike Tuesday, they have scheduled a longer walkout Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Hyundai Motor President Youn Yeo-chul was meeting with the head of a labor union to discuss how to end the partial walkout, the company said.
Labor troubles are a near-constant headache for Hyundai. Through 2006, Hyundai's union has gone on strike every year but one since it was established in 1987.
Public sentiment has turned against the union, with local media accusing union workers of selfishness at a time when their company is struggling with the strengthening Korean currency that hurts exporters.
01-17-2007, 01:06 AM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: South Korea where u car from fool
Posts: 2,764
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Vehicle: 2008/Hyundai/Tiburon gt
embezzlement and other charges = the korean way of life...I have lived here for over 25 years and i get so mad when i see this.. the koreans i know are not like this...what makes them do this shit ahhhh... i wonder if they think about others when they do this shit and how low class actions make there people look so bad on the internatinal stage...i think untill the korean people have enuff of this shit and put a theses old men out of office
01-17-2007, 02:10 AM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Washington D.C.
Posts: 11,992
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Vehicle: Hyundai Tiburon FX
^haha well said mj. yeah they need some younger men. it hurts the company because that 74 million could have gone to bonus pays am i correct?
sucks that one mans shitty actions can really manipulate the whole company like that.
that money could also have gone towards a wrc programme. MSD complained they weren't getting the budget necessary to run the car in rallies. wonder if this had anything to do with the low hyundai funds.
that guy deserves it. then they go to say his imprisonment is hurting the company well certainly not more than subtracting 74 million dollars asstard.
sucks that one mans shitty actions can really manipulate the whole company like that.
that money could also have gone towards a wrc programme. MSD complained they weren't getting the budget necessary to run the car in rallies. wonder if this had anything to do with the low hyundai funds.
that guy deserves it. then they go to say his imprisonment is hurting the company well certainly not more than subtracting 74 million dollars asstard.
01-17-2007, 07:08 AM
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 618
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Vehicle: 2009 Hyundai Sonata
hmm i wonder if this is the case only for Hyundai's chairman. I thought all CEOs/CFOs of multi-billion dollar companies do this type of thing??? others just do a better job of covering it up... no?
01-17-2007, 07:32 AM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Posts: 3,285
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Vehicle: 2000 tiburon
^^^ true
in the world we live in you can be one of two things
1. happy with your foot on the back on the common working man
or
2. just content as the working man with some douches foot in your back.
so i dont blame the man cause if i was him, i would be tryin to get paid too. there aint no in between in the days and times we live
in the world we live in you can be one of two things
1. happy with your foot on the back on the common working man
or
2. just content as the working man with some douches foot in your back.
so i dont blame the man cause if i was him, i would be tryin to get paid too. there aint no in between in the days and times we live