By Yun Suh-young
A court turned down a suit calling for the return of shares in the Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation to the family of the deceased Kim Ji-tae, the original creator of the foundation.
The late Kim is the founder of the Buil Scholarship Foundation, the preceding entity of Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation of which management is said to be still influenced by ruling party leader Park Geun-hye. Park was a former board chairwoman of the Jeongsu foundation.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled Friday that the state and the scholarship foundation did not have to return the stake in the foundation to the family of late Kim.
The court acknowledged that Kim was forced by the then government to hand over his shares, but said the 10-year statute of limitations for the cancellation of the “forced” stock transfer has already expired.
“It’s acknowledgeable that the handover of the shares was forced by the government. But it is difficult to say that the late Kim was stripped of his decision-making rights completely at the time,” the court said in a ruling. “Besides, it is not the state’s responsibility to return the assets because it’s a private matter between the deceased and the current owner of the foundation.”
It said the statute of limitations for the cancellation of the share transfer expired as he did not file a suit in the 10 years after the handover of the shares in June 20, 1962.
The plaintiff, the son of the late Kim, had filed a suit in 2010 claiming that the scholarship foundation was wrongfully taken from their family by the Park Chung-hee government following the military coup in 1961.
Following the May 16 military coup led by Park, the control of the foundation had been handed over to the government.
Originally founded by the late Kim in 1958, the foundation was called the Buil Scholarship Foundation until it was later changed to the May 16 Foundation to commemorate the military coup. In 1962, a year after the coup, the name was changed again to the Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation after Chung from Park’s first name and Soo from the first lady Yuk Young-soo’s name.
Late Kim, a Busan-based businessman, founded the Buil Scholarship Foundation with his own wealth. He, however, was arrested and indicted for illegally accumulating the wealth and handed over the foundation to the government while he was being tried for the charges.
Kim donated the shares he had in Busan Ilbo and Munhwa Broadcasting Corp. (MBC) along with the 81 acres of land that belonged to the foundation.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission urged the return of the foundation to its original owner in 2007 saying that the state had forcefully taken away the property of Kim and therefore should return the assets or make compensations.
When the foundation did not react, late Kim’s son filed a suit in 2010.
Jeongsu foundation currently holds a 30 percent stake in MBC and an entire stake in the Busan Ilbo.