[Seocho-dong Legal Story] The Grave of the Founder of the Former 3rd Largest Business Group Has Been Exhumed

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] On the morning of June 9, 2021, at 9 a.m., a backhoe and workers suddenly arrived at a park cemetery in Dongnam-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungnam Province.

This was to relocate the grave of the late former Chairman Kim Mo, the founder of a certain automobile group that rose to the 3rd rank in the business world hierarchy during the 1960s and 1970s. There had been no agreement reached with the cemetery management foundation. The workers blocked the foundation staff who rushed out, and the backhoe struck Chairman Kim’s grave.

The photo is unrelated to the article content. [Image source=Pixabay]

The people attempting to relocate the grave were Kim’s third wife, Yoo Mo (91), and Kim’s nephews, Kim Mo (74) and his younger brother (66). The backhoe and workers were sent by the Kim brothers to assist their grandaunt Yoo.

Chairman Kim married Yoo Mo in his 70s but had no children and passed away three years later. The grave had been managed by the only maternal grandson, Kang Mo, through the foundation’s operation.

The prosecution indicted the Kim brothers on charges of violating the Act on the Punishment of Violent Acts (joint damage to property, etc.) and obstruction of business. The charges state that they damaged part of Chairman Kim’s grave and obstructed the foundation’s work.

During the trial, the Kim brothers argued, “The authority to manage and dispose of Chairman Kim’s grave belongs to Yoo,” and “We only attempted to relocate the grave through proper procedures under Yoo’s delegation.”

According to the legal community on the 9th, Judge Jo Su-yeon of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 5 recently sentenced the Kim brothers to four months in prison, suspended for two years. The claim that “Yoo has the authority to manage the grave” was rejected.

Judge Jo stated, “It appears that Yoo gave up her inheritance rights in exchange for receiving 300 million won after Chairman Kim’s death,” and “Although the remains were interred in the grave and managed for about 34 years by the sole grandson, the victim Kang, Yoo did not assert any rights over the grave until the relocation attempt.”

Furthermore, “It seems Yoo either relinquished the authority to manage and dispose of the grave or effectively consented to its relocation by Kang’s side, and the victim foundation was managing the grave under Kang’s commission,” the judge pointed out, “The defendants attempted to relocate the grave without proper notice or agreement with the victim side, thereby obstructing the peaceful operation of the park cemetery and damaging the perimeter stones of the grave containing Chairman Kim’s remains.” He also stated, “This caused not only financial damage to the descendant Kang’s side but also mental distress.” However, the judge took into account that the Kim brothers had no prior convictions for similar crimes and were relatively elderly.

Meanwhile, Yoo filed a civil lawsuit after this incident, seeking to transfer the rights over Chairman Kim’s remains.