Appeals Trial for Cho Hyunbum on 20 Billion Won Embezzlement and Breach of Trust Charges Officially Begins

High Court Aims to Conclude Within Detention Period

The appeals trial for Cho Hyunbum, chairman of Hankook & Company, who was sentenced to three years in prison at the first trial on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust involving over 20 billion won, has officially begun.

On August 11, the 13th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court, presided over by Judge Baek Kangjin, held the first preparatory hearing for Chairman Cho, who was indicted on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

Chairman Cho's legal team stated, "Upon reviewing the first trial's verdict, we found that the court misinterpreted some of the evidence, and there were aspects where the court either made judgments or assumptions without sufficient examination." They added, "These issues are the main grounds for our appeal."

Yonhap News

Cho's legal team plans to make presentations over three sessions regarding the allegations: providing funds to Hankook Tire's partner company Rihan, other charges of breach of trust and embezzlement, and unfair support to the affiliate Hankook Precision Works (MKT). After the presentations, the court intends to proceed with witness examinations and evidence review.

The court stated, "Since this is a case involving detention, our goal is to reach a conclusion within the appellate trial period, so that there will be no inconvenience of bail being granted and then revoked due to the expiration of the detention period, as happened in the first trial." Chairman Cho's detention period lasts until the end of January next year.

Chairman Cho was brought to trial on charges of unfairly supporting MKT by having Hankook Tire purchase tire molds worth about 87.5 billion won from MKT between February 2014 and December 2017, paying higher prices than other manufacturers. In addition, he is accused of embezzling and committing breach of trust involving over 7.55 billion won in company funds between 2017 and 2022.