Major Business Trials to Begin in January

The eyes of the business will be on the courts in 2007 since public hearings in civil and criminal cases involving big businesses such as Samsung, Hyundai, Kia Motors and LG are scheduled to begin in January.

According to the Seoul District Court and the Seoul High Court, public hearings for major businesses cases, such as the trial on an appeal case for anomaly gifts from Samsung Everland CB and the case of the Hyundai group slush funds are among those scheduled for January.

This is because each court with the regular personnel charges in February plans to put an end to examination of major cases this year and schedule the public hearing of cases in the beginning of next year.

The most prominent case among those is the public hearing of an appeal case for anomaly gift of Samsung Everland CB. With regard to this, the present and the former president of Samsung Everland Heo Tae-hak and Park Noh-bin are among the accused.

This draws attention from the legal and academic world, not to mention the business world, and therefore, the offense and defense about the principle of laws between the prosecutors and lawyers was very fierce. Prosecutors plan to decide whether they will summon and indict Lee Kun-hee, the president of Samsung Group.

Additionally, the public hearing of a case in which large shareholders of LG Card disposed of shares by misusing undisclosed information will be opened.

In this case which raised the issue of the ‘moral hazard’ of a Chaebol family, Koo Cha-kyung, the honorary chairman of LG Group, and Mr. Lee, the director of LG Chemicals, are now standing trial.

The final public hearing of Chung Mong-Koo, the chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, who was indicted for making a slush fund for Hyundai-Kia Motors, is scheduled on January 15, and the decision of the court will be made no later than February. President Chung was initially brought into custody under restraint and is now on trial after posting bail. The results of the court would be a crucial influence on the rights of management of the group.

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The former director of the financial policy department at the Ministry of Finance and Economy, Byun Yang-ho, and the former representative of the Ahnkwon accounting company, Kim Dong-hun, were indicted for elimination of debt obligations related to a subsidiary of the Hyundai Motor Group. The conclusion of the trial will be made no later than December 26, and the public hearing will be opened next January.

Sentencing for a trial on an appeal case of Kim Sun Dong, the president of S-Oil company who was initially sentenced to three years in prison in the first trial for manipulation of stock prices and accounting infidelity was scheduled on January 17. A public hearing for Lee Ik-chi, the former president of Hyundai Securities, for suspicion of writing certifications of guarantee to the Hyundai Heavy Industry co. without resolution of board of directors was scheduled on January 18.

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