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SEOUL - South Korean prosecutors yesterday sought to double to six years the jail sentence that Hyundai Motor Group's chairman had been handed in February for fraud.
Chung Mong-koo, 69, had been found guilty of embezzling company money and setting up slush funds. He spent two months in jail after being arrested in April last year, but was released on 900 million won ($1.3 billion) bail.
But legal and business sources expect the courts to show him leniency, given Hyundai's importance to the economy.
Investors have been worried that Chung's prolonged absence from the frontlines of management could put a brake on Hyundai's expansion plans.
Chung has also pledged to donate about 1 trillion won to charity over seven years.
In 2004, the Seoul high court suspended a three-year jail term for fraud handed to Chey Tae-won, chief executive of SK Corp, the country's top oil refiner, so he could carry on running the company.
- REUTERS
