'First Trial Acquits Mirae Asset Affiliate of Supporting Golf Course Operated by Chairman's Family'

Mirae Asset affiliates, which had received summary orders for unfairly supporting a golf course operated by the family of the group’s head, were acquitted in a formal trial.

On the 16th, Judge Hyun Kyung-hoon of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 15 acquitted Mirae Asset Global Investments and Mirae Asset Life Insurance, who were indicted for violating the Fair Trade Act.

The court stated, "Based solely on the evidence submitted by the prosecution, it is difficult to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that unfair benefits were conferred to related parties through golf course transactions or that such a possibility was knowingly tolerated."

These companies were summarily indicted on charges of conducting approximately 24 billion KRW worth of transactions from January 2015 to December 2016, primarily using the golf course operated by Mirae Asset Consulting, owned by Chairman Park Hyun-joo and other family members of the Mirae Asset Group.

A summary indictment is a procedure in which the prosecution requests the court to impose fines or penalties based solely on written examination.

The court accepted the prosecution’s request and issued a summary order imposing a fine of 30 million KRW on the two companies in April 2022. The companies appealed this decision and requested a formal trial.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.