The Supreme Court has acquitted Mirae Asset affiliates accused of providing unfair support to companies operated by the family of the group's chairman.
On June 25, the Supreme Court's second division, led by Justice Eom Sang-pil, upheld the lower court's ruling that found Mirae Asset Management and Mirae Asset Life Insurance not guilty of violating the Fair Trade Law.
The two companies were charged with engaging in transactions worth over 24 billion won between January 2015 and December 2016, primarily involving a golf course owned by Mirae Asset Consulting, in which Chairman Park Hyun-joo and his family hold a 91.86% stake.
The charges were brought through a summary indictment, a process where prosecutors request the court to impose fines or penalties based solely on written proceedings.
In April 2022, the court accepted the prosecution's request and issued a summary order imposing a fine of 30 million won on both companies.
However, the companies contested the summary order and requested a formal trial. The key issue was whether the affiliates intended to provide unjust profits to the chairman's family.
The first trial court ruled in favor of the defendants, stating, "While it is acknowledged that the transactions with the golf course contributed to Mirae Asset Consulting's revenue and benefited the value of shares held by related parties, it is difficult to conclude that there was an intent to derive unjust profits solely based on the fact that revenue was generated from transactions with the defendants."
The appellate court also maintained the not guilty verdict, asserting that the evidence presented by the prosecution did not sufficiently prove that the Mirae Asset affiliates acted with intent to provide unjust benefits to related parties through the golf course transactions.
The Supreme Court found no issues with the lower court's judgment and dismissed the prosecution's appeal.
However, the Supreme Court ruled that the Fair Trade Commission's imposition of a fine of 4.3 billion won on Mirae Asset was justified. In a related administrative lawsuit, the court upheld the legality of the commission's fine.
The Supreme Court's special division, led by Justice Ma Yong-joo, confirmed the lower court's ruling that dismissed the lawsuit filed by eight affiliates, including Mirae Asset Securities and Mirae Asset Consulting, against the corrective order and fine payment.
In September 2020, the Fair Trade Commission imposed a corrective order and a fine of 4.391 billion won, stating that the affiliates had engaged in significant transactions with Mirae Asset Consulting without reasonable consideration, thereby providing unjust benefits to related parties.
Mirae Asset contested the ruling through an administrative lawsuit in the Seoul High Court, but the court determined in July 2023 that the commission's actions were lawful, considering the affiliates had not followed appropriate procedures for selecting transaction partners.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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