chung mong-koo
Chung Mong-koo, the chairman of Hyundai Motors who was convicted of fraud and embezzling over $100 million from Hyundai, has not only avoided all jail time, but he will remain as chairman of the company! This epic level of unbelievability proves once again people aren't really all that different in all corners of the world — violent crime is rewarded with hard time, while massive white collar crime gets a handshake and pat on the back. Our favorite part of this whole thing is the reasoning the judge gave for deciding against jail time.
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chung mong-koo
Now that's an entirely different kind of bailout! Har-de-har-har. We can't pretend to understand Korean law or politics, because here in the US of A we don't let corporate bosses accused of fraud and embezzlement to just walk the streets. Okay, nevermind that. Hyundai's chairman, Chung Mong-koo, had bond set at one
billion won, or about $1 million. Reasons for letting him out range from concerns for the 68-year-old's health to concern over the South Korean economy while Hyundai flails around without a leader. That's right, even though he's accused of stealing money from the company,
he's still going to go back to running things. Now that right there folks, is chutzpah. Don't you think that after your chairman spends two months in jail you'd want the board to, you know, appoint an interim chairman? We're just saying.
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Prosecutors in Seoul just issued an arrest warrant for Hyundai Motor Company Chairman Chung Mong-koo over the bribery and slush fund scandals we reported on earlier this month. The warrants were issued after Chairman Chung spent 15 hours, and his son spent 18 hours, in questioning over the alleged scandal. The best comment though comes to us from Hyundai spokesman Jake Jang:
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We like the Chung family's style. The embattled family owners of South Korea's largest automaker Hyundai Motor Company are givin' away their entire 60 percent stake in affiliate Glovis, an auto shipper — worth 1 trillion won ($1.05 billion). And by give away, we mean
give away. The money's all going to charity. Somehow, with charges of Hyundai operating slush funds and offering cash for political favours via a lobbyist, we doubt even this act of benevolence will keep the prosecutor at bay.
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We here at Jalopnik love our slushies. Whether the Sonic, Dairy Queen or your corner hole-in-the-wall variety, we love 'em. However, we really don't like the Hyundai-Kia flavor. It's tastes so much like a mix of Enron and Worldcom, what with all of the chunks of subpoenas and sludge and stuff.
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