Prosecution Indicts Former BBQ Chairman Yoon Hong-geun on Charges of Breach of Trust (Comprehensive)

BBQ "Unreasonable Prosecution Case... Innocence Will Be Proven"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Yoon Hong-geun, former chairman of the chicken franchise Genesis BBQ, has been indicted on charges of breach of trust.

The Criminal Division 2 of the Seongnam Branch of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Song Jeong-eun) announced on the 1st that Yoon was indicted without detention on April 16 on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust).

Yoon Hong-geun, Chairman of Genesis BBQ / Photo by Asia Economy DB

Yoon is accused of causing damage to the company by having Genesis, the holding company of BBQ, and BBQ lend several billion won of company funds to his personal company J from 2013 to 2016 and failing to recover a significant amount. J is a personal company established in July 2013 with 100% investment from Yoon’s family. J was later sold due to reasons such as capital erosion.

The chicken industry competitor bhc filed a complaint with the Seongnam Sujeong Police Station in April 2021, alleging that "Yoon Hong-geun, chairman of BBQ, caused damage by lending about 8.3 billion won of company funds to a personal company unrelated to BBQ," which triggered the investigation.

The police conducted an investigation for nearly a year and decided not to prosecute the case in July last year. However, bhc appealed this decision in August of the same year, and the prosecution found grounds for breach of trust against Yoon and referred the case to trial.

Genesis BBQ Group issued a statement on the same day, claiming, "This is a malicious accusation fabricated by bhc, a competitor, to undermine BBQ, and there are no actual victims, no damages, and no social harm in this excessive prosecution case."

They added, "The police judged it as a 'normal new business promotion case based on business judgment' and dismissed the charges due to lack of evidence." They also stated, "Genesis BBQ Group has already suffered greatly from a false report case of embezzlement of study abroad expenses in 2018," and expressed confidence that "(this indictment) will be proven innocent through future legal procedures."