2 Years Imprisonment with 3 Years Probation... Some Charges Acquitted
Former Ourhome Vice Chairman Gu Bonseong (67), who was indicted on charges of embezzling company funds worth tens of billions of won, was sentenced to a suspended prison term in the first trial.
On the 25th, the Criminal Division 14 of the Seoul Southern District Court (Chief Judge Jang Seonghun) held a sentencing hearing for former Vice Chairman Gu, who was indicted without detention on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust), embezzlement, and breach of trust in the course of business, and sentenced him to two years in prison with a three-year suspension.
The court stated, "The defendant used his position to receive salaries by establishing standards despite repeated opposition from other shareholders, and instructed the cashing of separately managed gift certificates to receive or use them for tax payments. Although the defendant claims he was unaware of the cashing of the gift certificates and that the payments were made from the personal funds of the former chairman, he did not submit any supporting documents, so it is appropriate to view this as embezzlement."
However, the court acquitted former Vice Chairman Gu of charges related to the improper receipt of management performance bonuses and embezzlement through purchasing golf club memberships under his personal name using company funds.
Gu was indicted on charges of purchasing gift certificates with company funds from July 2017 to 2021 while serving as CEO, cashing them, and using the money personally, as well as receiving approximately 2 billion won in performance bonuses unrelated to business results during the same period. He was also charged with paying property tax and comprehensive real estate tax for land in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, using company funds, and using company money to purchase golf club memberships under his personal name. The prosecution estimated Gu’s embezzlement amount at about 290 million won and breach of trust amount at about 3.1 billion won.
Earlier, Ourhome detected signs of embezzlement and breach of trust by former Vice Chairman Gu during an internal audit in November 2021 and filed a complaint with the police. The Gangseo Police Station in Seoul transferred him to the prosecution in July 2022, and the prosecution indicted him in September last year.
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