A local court on Friday convicted a former CEO of a major TV network of misusing company funds by using a corporate credit card to check into hotels and buy luxury goods while in office.
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| Kim Jae-cheol, a former CEO of MBC (Yonhap) |
The Seoul Southern District Court sentenced Kim Jae-cheol to six months in jail, suspended for two years, for spending about 11 million won (US$10,000) on his corporate credit card for personal use between 2010 and 2012.
MBC’s labor union recommended he receive a much higher fine of
690 million won. In March 2012, the union also alleged that Kim had given preferential treatment to a dancer he had an affair with in selecting the cast for MBC-hosted performances.
In February 2012, state auditors also filed a complaint with the prosecution after Kim refused to submit MBC’s financial statements and the run-down of his corporate credit card use to the Board of Audit and Inspection.
Kim stepped down as president in March 2013 after the network’s board of directors voted to sack him.
“As the head of a state-run TV network, Kim should have held himself to high ethical standards. He, however, used a corporate card to stay at hotels on holidays and buy luxury goods,” Judge Shin Jung-gwon said in his ruling. “He, furthermore, has shown no remorse for his wrongdoing.”
Still, the judge said he took into account that Kim is a first-time offender and the amount spent for personal use on the credit card was relatively small.
Kim said the ruling was unexpected and that he will decide whether to appeal after talking with his attorney. (Yonhap)
