'Hwangje Noyeok' Heo Jae-ho, Absent from Trial Again

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Heo Jaeho, former chairman of Daeju Group, who sparked controversy over the "emperor labor" costing 500 million won per day, once again failed to appear in court. The decision on whether to issue an arrest warrant for Heo, who is accused of tax evasion, will be made next week.

According to the legal community on the 28th, the trial of Heo, who was indicted without detention on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, was held at the Gwangju District Court under the Criminal Division 11 (Presiding Judge Jeong Ji-seon).

Heo was indicted without detention on charges of failing to pay 500 million won in capital gains tax and approximately 6.5 million won in comprehensive income tax on dividends from stocks held under the names of three people, including H, with whom he had a de facto marital relationship from May to November 2007, during the sale of shares of Daehan Fire & Marine Insurance.

However, since the first trial began on August 28, 2019, Heo has refused to appear, citing health issues and difficulties caused by COVID-19. Heo’s side argued that under Article 277, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Procedure Act, the case falls under "cases where dismissal or acquittal is clearly expected," allowing the trial to proceed without the defendant’s presence, but the court did not accept this argument.

Moreover, Heo’s side believes that the indictment by the prosecution in July 2019 came after the 10-year statute of limitations had already expired. Taxes arising from the stock sale in 2007 should have been reported by May 2008, and the related indictment should have been made by May 2018.

On the other hand, the prosecution argues that the statute of limitations was suspended because Heo left the country in 2015. They also claim that the period during which the whereabouts of Heo and H were unknown, leading to a suspension of the investigation and witness status, should be taken into account.

The court decided to determine whether the statute of limitations has expired based on H’s testimony in court and the prosecution’s investigation records regarding attempts to confirm the whereabouts of witnesses. The court also plans to soon conclude whether to issue an arrest warrant for Heo.