Hyundai chairman deemed too important for prison

September 07, 2007|Associated Press

SEOUL - An appeals court yesterday suspended a three-year prison sentence for Hyundai Motor Co. chairman Chung Mong-koo, saying the tycoon is too important to South Korea's economy to go to jail for embezzlement.

A three-judge panel at the Seoul High Court suspended the sentence for five years, meaning that the 69-year-old head of the world's sixth-largest automaker will not have to serve the prison time as long as he keeps a clean record for five years.

A lower court had sentenced Chung in February to three years for embezzling the equivalent of more than $100 million to set up a slush fund. Prosecutors say much of the fund was used to pay lobbyists to gain government favors and for personal use.

Presiding Judge Lee Jae-hong told the packed courtroom that Hyundai has great influence over the nation's economy and Chung, its hands-on leader, is the symbol of the company.

"I am also a citizen of the Republic of Korea," Lee said. "I was unwilling to engage in a gamble that would put the nation's economy at risk."

Chung, free on bail after spending two months in jail for questioning after his arrest in April last year, has been actively running Hyundai, which has ambitions to become the world's fifth-largest automaker by 2010.