"Prepare the watch mentioned before"
YG "Deep regret over the prosecution's excessive indictment"
First trial on the 15th of next month
Yang Hyun-suk, the chief producer of YG Entertainment, has been indicted for bringing luxury watches into the country without declaring them to customs.
According to the legal community on the 23rd, the Public and International Crime Investigation Division of the Busan District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Yoon Guk-kwon) indicted Yang last month on the 13th without detention on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (customs). Yang is accused of bringing two luxury watches worth a total of 828.06 million won into the country without declaring them to customs when entering through Incheon International Airport on September 16, 2014. The case has been transferred to the 11th Criminal Division of the Seoul Western District Court, which is scheduled to hold the first trial on the 15th of next month.
YG Entertainment stated in an official position, "We deeply regret the prosecution's hasty and excessive indictment decision made just before the expiration of the 10-year statute of limitations," adding, "At the time in 2017, Yang cooperated sincerely with the investigation and voluntarily submitted all sponsored watches to the investigative agency, as he did not want to be involved in even minor issues as a public figure." They further argued, "During the investigation, the statements of the representative of the relevant company frequently changed, and the prosecution indicted Yang on the assumption that he brought sponsored items into the country without customs declaration without properly investigating the witnesses."
However, on the 23rd, The Fact reported that Yang became acquainted with Mr. B, the Asia representative of Swiss luxury watch brand Company A, through a YG-affiliated composer in 2013, and maintained a friendly relationship, during which he received watches from Mr. B. Additionally, Mr. B covered various travel expenses such as hotel and meals when Yang visited Singapore. The prosecution believes that Yang expressed his intention to Mr. B to obtain a watch engraved with a skull motif from Company A. According to the report, before departing for Singapore, Yang sent a text message in English to Mr. B saying, "I really wanna get the watch I have been asking about."
According to Article 241 of the Customs Act, when importing goods from abroad, one must declare the name, specifications, quantity, price of the goods, and other matters prescribed by Presidential Decree. If goods are imported without declaration, the importer may face imprisonment of up to five years or a fine up to ten times the customs duty or the cost of the goods, whichever is higher. If the cost of imported goods is between 200 million and 500 million won, aggravated punishment applies under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
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