Chung Mong-koo is back in hot water, as the Hyundai Motor Group chairman and another executive face a lawsuit from the company’s shareholders. Last year, the chairman was convicted of fraud and embezzlement, and sentenced to three years in prison, though has yet to serve it, and just over two months ago, Mong-koo was back on the automaker’s board.
The civil lawsuit was filed on Wednesday and seeks compensation for losses at the world’s 6th largest automaker, as per an Automotive News report. Filed by minor shareholders that include family-run chaebol conglomerates, the civil lawsuit demands 563.1 billion won (approximately $542 million) to be paid out by the pair of executives.
The lawsuit follows Tuesday court proceedings during which prosecutors sought a six-year jail term for Mong-koo. Last September, a presiding judge concluded Mong-koo was too important to South Korea’s economy, ordering him to do community service in the form of writing speeches and essays on governance and a transparent management as well as pay a hefty donation in lieu of prison time.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, the new sentence was set to be handed down June 3, so this is not the last we’ve heard of this case.
