Hankook Tire chairman attends court hearing on his arrest warrant

SEOUL, March 8 (Yonhap) -- The chief of tire giant Hankook Tire & Technology Co. attended a court hearing Wednesday on an arrest warrant requested earlier this week for him on charges of illicit inter-affiliate trading, embezzlement and breach of trust.

Hankook Tire Chairman Cho Hyun-bum, appearing for the hearing at the Seoul Central District Court shortly after 3 p.m., remained tight-lipped in the face of reporters' questions.

The 51-year-old Cho is accused of having caused losses to MKT, the predecessor of Hankook Precision Works Co., by forcing the Hankook Tire affiliate to lend around 13 billion won (US$9.84 million) to Hyundai Motor's parts supplier Leehan Corp. between 2020 and 2021 despite the borrower's unsound financial conditions.

Cho is suspected of having carried out the lending due to his personal acquaintance with Leehan's chief executive, Park Ji-hoon.

The chairman is also accused of using his company's funds for personal use during the same period to purchase luxury vehicles and repair his home.

Prosecutors estimate the amount of Cho's embezzlement and breach of trust at about 20 billion won.

In addition, Cho is suspected of having violated the fair trade law by being involved in Hankook Tire's purchase of overpriced tire molds from MKT from 2014 to 2017.

Prosecutors suspect the profits from the Hankook Tire-MKT deals may have flowed into Cho and his family.

In January, the prosecution indicted Hankook Tire and one of its senior executives in charge of purchase on charges related to the allegedly illicit inter-affiliate trading.

A court decision on Cho's arrest warrant is expected to come out Wednesday night.

ycm@yna.co.kr
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