Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn on Thursday was sentenced to four years in prison and 5 billion won ($4.4 million) in fines for illegally using company money to pay back debts of firms he has run under borrowed names.
Kim was imprisoned soon after the Seoul Western District Court handed down the ruling.
Prosecutors in July demanded nine years of imprisonment and 150 billion won in fines for the 60-year-old tycoon on breach of trust charges for spending hundreds of billions of won in company funds to repay the debts of the firms he secretly ran between 2004 and 2006.
He was also charged with having Hanwha subsidiaries sell shares to his relatives at below-market prices.
"Chairman Kim incurred losses to the company by using his power and status of his family," Judge Seo Gyung-hwan of the court said in a ruling. "He has not shown remorse for his crime," the judge added, explaining the reason for handing down the long prison term.
The court also ordered four years of imprisonment and one billion in fines for Hong Dong-wook, the CEO of Yeochun NCC Co., for paying back debts of Kim's firms using Hanwha funds under Kim's order. Hong was the top management administrator at the time. (Yonhap)