Court Rules Cenox Illegal

“Fake fuel or alternate energy?”

Unlike the decision handed down during the first trial, the production of Cenox was found to be illegal at an appeals court.

On August 11, the Seoul Central District Court’s Fifth Criminal Appeals Court (Head justice: Park Hong-woo) ruled the production and sales of the petroleum-type product Cenox illegal. The appeals court sentenced the president, Sung (51, Female), and the headquarters director, Chun (46), of Free Flight Co. Ltd, each to one year and six months of imprisonment.

The court also sentenced the president of iBENECS Co. Ltd, a producer of the petroleum-type product LP power, to one year and six months of imprisonment. The court levied 300 million and 50 million won fines on Free Flight and IBENECS, respectively.

An explanation was given by the court for its judgments, stating, “Sung was well aware that Cenox was a petroleum-type product regulated by article 26 of the petroleum trade laws. He was found guilty of intentionally mass producing and selling the product for use as an automobile fuel.”

The court also stated, “Cenox contains alcohol that could possibly corrode a car’s fuel system and at the same time discharge poisonous gases. If the courts perceive Cenox as a legal product that replaces car fuel, traffic taxes are likely to be evaded and disorder in petroleum circulation will probably bring chaos to the market.”

Previously, the Seoul Central District Court’s first trial ruled, “Cenox is not a product that will cause an automobile’s fuel system to corrode, nor is it a petroleum-type product.”

Last March, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy passed a “regulation of supply and demand” order on Cenox, suspending further circulation of the product.

Ji-Seong Jeon verso@donga.com