Prosecutors have summarily indicted Kim Jun-ki, founding chairman of DB Group, on charges of submitting false affiliate data to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC).
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Fair Trade Investigation Division, led by senior prosecutor Na Hee-seok, summarily indicted founding chairman Kim on Thursday, seeking a fine of 150 million won (approximately $110,000) for violating the Fair Trade Act.
A summary indictment is a procedure in which prosecutors request the court to impose a fine or penalty through written review alone, without sending the accused to a formal trial.
Kim is accused of omitting Donggok Social Welfare Foundation and its 15 subsidiary companies from affiliate disclosures when submitting data for the designation review of large business groups. The FTC found that DB Group had been using Donggok Social Welfare Foundation and its subsidiaries — which were excluded from the group's affiliates in 1999 — to maintain the controlling family's dominance and serve their private interests. The commission determined that the group established a separate management system in 2016 to further strengthen its influence.
The FTC referred Kim to prosecutors in February on charges of violating the Fair Trade Act. The referral came two years and five months after the commission launched its investigation, and just two months before the statute of limitations was set to expire.