Financial CEO with Highest Salary Jung Tae-young, Reason for Filing 200 Million Won Lawsuit Against Siblings Despite Criticism

Vice Chairman Jeong Tae-young Files Lawsuit Against Siblings for "Mother's Inheritance"
Struggling with Lawsuits and Exposures Since Last Year... Emotional Rift Deepens Among Brothers

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Jung Tae-young, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Card, has filed a lawsuit against his siblings to claim a portion of their mother's inheritance. The lawsuit amount is approximately 200 million KRW.

Industry insiders are puzzled that Vice Chairman Jung, who receives one of the highest salaries in the financial sector, would take on the burden of litigation. Some speculate that this indicates the deepening conflict between Jung and his siblings.

According to the legal community on the 18th, Vice Chairman Jung, along with his father Jung Kyung-jin, founder of Jongno Academy, filed a lawsuit last month at the Seoul Central District Court against his younger sister Jung Eun-mi and younger brother Jung Hae-seung (former CEO of Irunet) demanding the return of a statutory portion of inheritance worth about 200 million KRW. The statutory portion refers to a certain part of the inheritance that must be reserved for heirs regardless of the deceased's wishes.

Jung’s mother left a handwritten will in March 2018, bequeathing her entire assets of 1 billion KRW in deposits and other property to Jung’s younger sister and brother, and passed away in February last year.

Jung challenged the validity of the will, stating, "The handwriting on the will does not match my mother's, and it is suspected that it was written when she was not in a normal cognitive state." In response, his siblings filed a lawsuit against Jung and their father, and last month the court recognized the validity of the will.

As a result of the lawsuit, the siblings would inherit all of their mother's assets, prompting Vice Chairman Jung to file a lawsuit to claim the portion of the inheritance he is legally entitled to.

In the business community, it is interpreted that despite being a CEO receiving the highest salary in the financial sector, Jung’s involvement in such legal disputes is a tragedy caused by family discord. Jung was branded a "gapjil CEO" (abusive CEO) due to his sister’s revelations. It is also speculated that he was deeply distressed by the damage to his reputation and corporate image, having been regarded as an icon of innovation.

The family conflict surfaced externally when Jung’s younger sister, Jung Eun-mi, filed a provisional injunction in August 2017 against Jongno Academy (now Seoul PMC) to allow inspection of accounting books. Jung Eun-mi, holding a 17.04% stake as the second-largest shareholder of Seoul PMC, raised concerns about management and requested access to the accounting books, but the company denied the request. However, the court dismissed her request.

In August last year, Jung Eun-mi posted on the Blue House’s public petition board a demand for correction regarding the "abusive management by the major shareholder at Seoul PMC, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group," exposing various allegations surrounding Vice Chairman Jung.

She claimed that Vice Chairman Jung increased his shares illegally and through irregular means after receiving a large portion of shares from their father, the founder of Jongno Academy; that he received a large salary and trademark royalties without even coming to work; and that he arbitrarily sold major company assets.

In September, she again posted a message titled "Questions about the Minority Shareholder Protection Act and the Right to Inspect Books, which are useless against the arbitrary actions of major shareholder Jung Tae-young." At that time, Hyundai Card stated, "The petition is a one-sided claim by Vice Chairman Jung’s sister and includes false information," and added, "We do not have detailed information regarding issues related to Vice Chairman Jung’s family." Ultimately, Vice Chairman Jung filed a defamation and damages lawsuit against Jung Eun-mi.

The reason behind Vice Chairman Jung’s recent lawsuit to claim his share of their mother’s inheritance is interpreted as stemming more from accumulated emotions between siblings than from financial motives.