Failure to Appear in Tax Evasion Trial
Also Suspected of Embezzling Tens of Billions of Won
Former Daeju Group Chairman Jaeho Hur (83), who had stayed overseas and failed to appear in court after being indicted on charges of tax evasion, has been repatriated to South Korea 10 years after his departure.
Former Daeju Group Chairman Jaeho Hur, who was staying in New Zealand, is being repatriated to South Korea through Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on the 27th. Photo by Yonhap News
The Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office announced that Hur, who had been staying in New Zealand, was apprehended locally and forcibly repatriated through Incheon International Airport on the afternoon of the 27th. Hur will be detained at Gwangju Prison and stand trial.
In July 2019, Hur was indicted on charges of failing to pay approximately 500 million won in capital gains tax and 6.5 million won in dividend income tax after selling shares of Daehan Fire & Marine Insurance, which he held under an acquaintance's name in 2007.
The prosecution's investigation began in 2014 following a report by the Seoul Regional Tax Office. In July 2015, Hur was designated as a reference person under suspension, and one month later, he left for New Zealand and never appeared in court. In 2021, the Ministry of Justice requested Hur's extradition from New Zealand, and the repatriation process proceeded following a local court's extradition decision and an order from the Minister of Justice.
Former Daeju Group Chairman Jaeho Hur, who was staying in New Zealand, is being repatriated to South Korea through Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on the 27th. Photo by Yonhap News
In 2014, Hur was also sentenced to a fine of 25.4 billion won on tax evasion charges involving over 50 billion won and fled to New Zealand, but later returned to South Korea and was detained for labor at Gwangju Prison. At that time, it became known that the daily wage for his labor was calculated at 500 million won, allowing him to reduce his fine by 3 billion won over six days, which sparked controversy over so-called "emperor labor." He later voluntarily paid the remaining 22.4 billion won fine.
In addition to the current tax evasion charges, Hur is also under police investigation for allegedly embezzling 10 billion won from Daeju Group and transferring it to a golf course in Damyang, Jeonnam (embezzlement and breach of trust).
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