Fraud sentence stands against ex-Doosan boss

Joongang Daily February 23, 2007

The Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced Park Yong-oh, a former Doosan Group chairman, to a three-year suspended jail term for embezzlement.
Mr. Park, 69, was convicted by the Seoul Central District Court a year ago of embezzling 29.7 billion won ($31.5 million) from the business group between 1996 and 2005. Last July an appeals court upheld the three-year jail sentence, suspended for five years, and 8 billion won in fines.

Kim Ji-hyeong, presiding justice of the top court, said the lower court ruling was “acceptable,” convicting Mr. Park of using the slush funds from Doosan Industrial Development Co. to pay interest on the company’s bank debts, in collusion with his younger brothers, including Park Yong-sung. Doosan Industrial Development is the construction arm of the conglomerate.

“Park Yong-oh’s direct involvement in accounting fraud is also recognizable based on the fact that he has attended annual meetings to report business plans,” the judge said.

Park Yong-maan and Park Yong-sung, his brothers and also former Doosan CEOs, were granted presidential pardons along with other jailed businessmen earlier this month. Park Yong-sung remains the head of the International Judo Federation and a member of the International Olympic Committee.

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SeanHayes@ipglegal.com

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