By Na Jeong-ju
The imprisonment of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn, convicted of embezzlement and breach of trust Thursday, shows that society has become less lenient towards business tycoons involved in economic crimes, analysts said.
The verdict came amid growing demand for “economic democratization.”
Some lawmakers have called for tax hikes on conglomerates and high-income earners, while strengthening a social safety net for the less privileged, in order to achieve balanced growth.
Business groups dismissed the idea as based on populism aimed at wooing voters ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election.
However, Kim’s case suggests that the judiciary is toughening its stance on irregularities committed by conglomerates and their owners.
“Kim abused his status and power to misappropriate a huge amount of company funds. It’s an unforgivable crime, but he has not shown any remorse,” Judge Seo Gyung-hwan of the Seoul Western District Court said, sentencing Kim to four years in prison and a 5.1 billion won fine.
“Kim assumes great responsibility as chairman of a big enterprise, but he failed to fulfill his duty. He deserves severe punishment.”
The four-year jail sentence was harsher than the company forecast. Hanwha officials said they expected Kim to get a suspended sentence because he is an incumbent CEO.
Kim didn’t say anything about the ruling, but the company expressed regret, saying that Kim will appeal.
“It’s not appropriate to imprison Kim given his social status and because he has a lot of work to do as chairman of one of the country’s largest firms,” a Hanwha official told reporters.
Major business lobby groups, including the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), also expressed regret over the sentence.
“Kim has played an important role in the Korean economy, but the court didn’t take this into account. The verdict may pour cold water on entrepreneurs’ efforts to revive the economy and discourage them,” an FKI spokesman said. “We hope Kim’s imprisonment won’t negatively affect the group’s globalization on strategy.”
Some Hanwha officials alleged that their chairman was victimized by the economic democratization drive launched by politicians as part of election-year propaganda.
However, their reactions are a far cry from people’s feelings about corrupt business tycoons.
“Almost all convicted conglomerate CEOs have been pardoned by the President. Such a thing should not happen again,” said a blogger named OjsimKris.
Another blogger named Kozimi said, “The government has pledged to strengthen the rule of law, but the special amnesty for the convicted businessmen shows it demands tough standards only for the have-nots. There should be harsher punishment for those who assume greater responsibility. It is common sense.”