Jung Taeyoung's Sister Acquitted by Supreme Court After Lawsuit Filed by Hyundai Card Vice Chairman [Invest&Law]

Jung Eunmi, the younger sister of Hyundai Card Vice Chairman Jung Taeyoung, who had been on trial for allegedly forging his seal, has been acquitted by the Supreme Court.

According to the legal community on May 12, the Supreme Court's Third Division (Presiding Justice Lee Heungku) dismissed the prosecutor's appeal and upheld the acquittal of Jung, who had been indicted on charges including obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means, on April 25.

Supreme Court, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Asia Economy DB

Previously, in November 2020, Jung was brought to trial on charges of arbitrarily creating and submitting Vice Chairman Jung's seal through an architect during the process of applying for a change of use for a house in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The house was jointly owned by Jung, her two older brothers, including Vice Chairman Jung, and their father. The investigation began after Vice Chairman Jung filed a complaint against her.

The prosecution pointed out, "Jung took photographs of documents related to inheritance tax payment, which included the resident registration numbers and addresses of the co-owners, and sent them to the architect without their consent. Based on these, the architect applied for the change of use of the house."

During the trial, Jung stated, "It is regrettable that an official document was disrupted due to the architect's mistake in using a forged signature," but she also argued, "I cared for my mother for a year and managed the house where my parents had lived for 50 years by myself. My eldest brother, who had shown no interest in me after our parents' passing, is now threatening me by filing a criminal complaint."

The first trial found no intent and acquitted Jung. The court stated, "The architect did not tell the defendant that the seals of the other co-owners were needed, nor did he mention preparing a power of attorney," and judged that Jung was not aware of the details of the situation. The appellate court and the Supreme Court agreed with this assessment.

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman Jung received a partial victory in a lawsuit filed against his two younger siblings, seeking the return of 200 million won from their mother's estate. The court ruled that his younger brother must pay 32.38 million won and his younger sister must pay 111.22 million won to Vice Chairman Jung, respectively.