Yoon Hong-geun, BBQ Chairman, Appears in Court on Embezzlement Charges

Original trial date of the 30th last month
Changed to the 2nd division of Criminal Department 1, date rescheduled

Yoon Hong-geun, chairman of BBQ, will stand trial on charges of breach of trust.

Yoon Hong-geun, Chairman of Genesis BBQ Group.
[Photo by BBQ]

According to the legal and chicken industry circles on the 27th, the Suwon District Court Seongnam Branch will hold a trial in the morning regarding Yoon's alleged violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust).

This is the first time Yoon will personally appear in court during the decade-long legal battle with competitor bhc.

The first trial date was originally scheduled for the 30th of last month, but the trial date was changed as the presiding court was transferred from Criminal Division 1 to Division 2. The date for the second trial is expected to be announced within the day.

Yoon is accused of causing damage to the company by having Genesis, the holding company of BBQ, lend several hundred million won of company funds to his personal company J from 2013 to 2016 and failing to recover a significant amount. J is a company established in July 2013 with 100% investment from Yoon's family and is neither an affiliate of Genesis nor BBQ. Later, J was sold due to capital erosion and other reasons.

The investigation into former chairman Yoon began when competitor bhc filed a complaint with the Seongnam Sujeong Police Station in April 2021, alleging that Yoon caused damage by lending about 8.3 billion won of company funds to a personal company unrelated to BBQ.

After more than a year of investigation, the police decided not to prosecute in July last year, but bhc appealed the decision in August of the same year. The prosecution, which took over the case, reinforced the investigation and judged that Yoon was guilty of breach of trust, sending him to trial.

Genesis BBQ Group has rebutted, stating, "This is an excessive prosecution case with no actual victims, no damage amount, and no social damage, caused by a competitor's slanderous accusation," and added, "It will be proven innocent through legal procedures going forward."