Prosecutors have filed a summary indictment against HDC Chairman Chung Mong-gyu on charges of submitting false data related to the Fair Trade Commission's (FTC) designation of mutual investment-restricted business groups.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Fair Trade Investigation Division referred Chung to summary court proceedings, seeking a fine of 150 million won ($110,000) for violations of the Fair Trade Act, according to legal sources on Friday.
The FTC accused Chung of omitting a total of 20 companies from affiliate disclosure filings submitted between 2021 and 2024 for the designation of the controlling shareholder. The omitted firms included eight companies controlled by his younger sibling's family and 12 companies belonging to his maternal uncle's family.
The combined assets of the omitted companies reportedly exceeded 1 trillion won ($730 million) annually. The FTC determined that Chung, having served as the group's controlling shareholder for an extended period, was fully aware of the scope of affiliates. The commission concluded the omissions were intentional, noting that most of the excluded companies were effectively owned or managed by relatives.
However, the FTC's referral of the case to prosecutors came only about a month before the statute of limitations was set to expire, reviving criticism of the commission's delayed action. On the 3rd, prosecutors also filed a summary indictment seeking the same 150 million won fine against DB Group founder and chairman on identical charges, just before the statute of limitations expired. In that case as well, the FTC had forwarded the matter to prosecutors only two months before the deadline. The statute of limitations in that case expires on the 8th.