Financial Services Commission Fines SK Ecoplant 5.4 Billion Won for Accounting Standards Violation

The financial authorities have imposed a fine of 5.4 billion won on SK Ecoplant for violating accounting standards. When including the fines imposed on former CEOs and other executives and employees, the total amount exceeds 6.2 billion won.

The Financial Services Commission announced on October 22 at its 18th meeting that it had decided on these measures against SK Ecoplant and its related parties in accordance with the Act on External Audit of Stock Companies, among others.

The final fines are 5.41 billion won for SK Ecoplant, 420 million won for the former CEO, and 380 million won for the responsible executive. Additional sanctions include a two-year designation of an external auditor, a recommendation for dismissal of the responsible executive, and a six-month suspension from duties for the responsible executive.

Previously, it was found that SK Ecoplant had overstated the sales of its subsidiaries in the process of preparing consolidated financial statements for 2022 and 2023. Sales were overstated by 150.6 billion won in 2022 and 464.7 billion won in 2023, which also inflated consolidated net income and equity.

Samjong KPMG, which was responsible for SK Ecoplant's external audit, was found to have failed to adequately perform audit procedures related to the overstated sales. In response, the Financial Services Commission has taken measures such as requiring an additional 20% contribution to the joint compensation fund and restricting audit work for two years.