New Phase in the Jo Hyun-moon Attempted Coercion Case

Key Witness Indicates Possibility of Attempted Coercion

In the trial of former Hyosung Group Vice Chairman Cho Hyun-moon, who was indicted on charges of attempted coercion against his elder brother, Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon, testimony emerged stating that "Cho was warned in advance about the possibility of attempted coercion."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 9th, Judge Choi Min-hye of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 26 held the 10th hearing for Cho, who was indicted on attempted coercion charges, and Park Soo-hwan, former CEO of News Communication, who was indicted on charges including attempted extortion (Case No. 2022go-dan5766).

During the trial, the court conducted witness examination of a key figure, lawyer Gong. Around 2013, Gong personally delivered messages from Cho to his younger brother, Vice Chairman Cho Hyun-sang, and Hyosung executives. He is considered one of the central figures in the so-called "Hyosung family feud."

Regarding the attempted coercion charges against Cho

In August 2011, Cho led an audit of Hyosung Group affiliates and announced audit results stating that "Chairman Cho Hyun-joon was involved in unfair support among affiliates." At that time, the late Honorary Chairman Cho Seok-rae reprimanded Cho for "causing family discord," and it is known that family conflicts deepened thereafter. In particular, when malicious rumors about Cho’s spouse circulated at the end of 2012, Cho suspected that Chairman Cho had instructed the group’s PR team to spread them and resigned in February 2013. During this process, it was investigated that in January 2013, Cho signed a service contract with Park, former CEO of the PR agency News Communication, under the pretext of finding the source of the rumors and handling media responses related to his resignation.

In February 2013, Cho’s side visited Hyosung headquarters and gave a press release to the late Honorary Chairman Cho’s side stating that "Cho contributed greatly to Hyosung’s development," threatening to report Chairman Cho to the prosecution if it was not distributed, but the request was refused.

Park is accused of, after consulting with Cho, visiting Chairman Cho in September 2013 and demanding the purchase of Hyosung affiliate shares held by Cho. When these demands were not accepted, Cho filed a criminal complaint against Hyosung affiliate CEOs and Chairman Cho for breach of duty from June to November 2014. Eventually, Chairman Cho also sued Cho in 2017, leading to Cho’s indictment in November 2022.

Testimony contradicting denial of charges

At the trial, new testimony emerged that Cho forced the distribution of the press release despite knowing it could constitute attempted coercion.

Cho’s lawyer asked the key witness, lawyer Gong, "Cho is indicted for attempted coercion due to the press release he delivered. You are also an accomplice; did you act knowing it was attempted coercion?" Gong replied, "I even warned the client (Cho) that it could become so." When asked, "So you acted knowing this?" he answered affirmatively.

Previously, Gong testified that during his visit to Hyosung in February 2013, he received messages from Cho to deliver to Vice Chairman Lee Sang-woon, Chairman Cho Hyun-joon, and Vice Chairman Cho Hyun-sang, and he delivered them accordingly. On this day, Gong stated that the message related to the press release included a threat that if the press release was not distributed, they would take evidence of Chairman Cho’s corruption to the Seocho-dong prosecution office. When asked if Cho wanted the press release to recognize his achievements in the Heavy Industries PG at Hyosung to help him view his resignation positively, Gong said yes. Cho wanted the image of "having done well but resigning" to be summarized as "well done" by Hyosung.

The next hearing will be held at 3 p.m. on the 30th of next month.

Park Soo-yeon, Legal News Reporter

※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.