First Trial: Attendance Mandatory for Koo Young-bae, Ryu Kwang-jin, and Ryu Hwa-hyun
[Seoul=Newsis] Reporter Hwang Joon-sun: On the morning of the 8th, Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Agreement Division 24 (Presiding Judge Lee Young-sun) will conduct the first formal trial for Koo Young-bae and 10 others, who are charged with violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (embezzlement), among other charges.
Koo Young-bae, the CEO of Qoo10 Group, along with Ryu Kwang-jin, CEO of TMON, and Ryu Hwa-hyun, CEO of Wemakeprice, is accused of initiating a large-scale unpaid settlement crisis involving TMON and Wemakeprice. After two preliminary trial preparation sessions, the formal trial will officially begin today. Unlike the preparation sessions, attendance is mandatory for the defendants at this formal trial.
During the preparation sessions, the court discussed procedural matters for the trial. Koo and others are expected to express their stance on the charges in court today. Future sessions will involve both the prosecution and defense presenting their arguments and plans via presentations, and witness examinations will take place.
Expected witnesses include Mark Lee, CFO of Qoo10 Express, as well as representatives and related parties from the “Black Umbrella Emergency Committee,” a group of TMON and Wemakeprice vendors who claim to be victims.
Koo and others are accused of conspiring to misappropriate settlement funds worth approximately 1.85 trillion won from TMON and Wemakeprice vendors and embezzling 50 billion won meant for acquiring a U.S. e-commerce company. They are also alleged to have caused losses amounting to 72.7 billion won by imposing costs on TMON, Wemakeprice, and Interpark Commerce during Qoo10 Express’s push for a NASDAQ listing.
The prosecution has twice requested arrest warrants for Koo and associates, but the court has denied them, citing no concerns about evidence destruction.