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[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Jang Won-jun, former CEO of Shinpoong Pharmaceutical, has been sentenced to prison for embezzling company funds to create a slush fund.



According to legal sources on May 12, the Supreme Court's second division, presided over by Justice Oh Kyung-mi, upheld the lower court's decision on May 1, confirming a sentence of one year and six months in prison for Jang on charges of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.



Prosecutors alleged that from April 2008 to September 2017, Jang created a slush fund totaling KRW 9.1 billion (approx. USD 6.6 million) by inflating the price of raw materials or fabricating transactions to reclaim the difference. The funds were allegedly used for personal expenses and the purchase of company stock.



The first and second trial courts determined that Jang’s late father, former Shinpoong Chairman Jang Yong-taek, had led most of the embezzlement. However, the appeals court found Jang Won-jun guilty of embezzling approximately KRW 860 million (approx. USD 630,000) after March 2016, when his father passed away. He was also convicted of breach of trust involving KRW 86.23 million and of violating the Act on External Audit of Stock Companies by directing the preparation of false financial statements.



Both Jang and the prosecution appealed the decision, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeals, ruling that the lower court’s findings were legally sound.

 

 

 

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