LG Scion gets 3-year jail term for embezzlment

The Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling to sentence a scion of the late LG Group founder Koo In-hwoi to a three-year prison sentence, Monday, on charges of stock manipulation and embezzlement.

Koo Bon-hyun, a nephew of LG honorary Chairman Koo Cha-kyung, was convicted of pocketing some 13.9 billion won ($11.7 million) of illegal gains by inflating the stock price of his firm, Exa E&C. Through the stock manipulation, Koo’s aides and company executives also had some 11 billion won of illegal gains, the court said.

The 45-year-old reportedly spread false information about the company through its official public relations booklets when it took over another firm in 2007.

The court also convicted him of embezzling some 76.5 billion won of company funds through accounting fraud. Koo manipulated accounting books to deceive outside auditors, the court said.

A district court previously handed down a four-year prison sentence to Koo, but an appellate court in March reduced the sentence to three years.

Koo is the youngest son of Koo Ja-geuk, a son of the late LG group founder. <The Korea Times/Na Jeong-ju>

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