'Kim Keon-hee Fixer Gate': IMS Mobility CEO Jo Youngtak's Acquittal and Dismissal of Charges Finalized

Not guilty of breach of trust, embezzlement, and instigating concealment of evidence

Some charges "outside the scope of the special counsel's investigation"

Supreme Court rejects special counsel's appeal

Jo Young-tak, CEO of IMS Mobility, who was indicted on charges including embezzling investment funds with Kim Ye-seong, known as the “fixer” for First Lady Kim Keon-hee’s family, has been finally acquitted, with the dismissal of some charges also upheld.

IMS Mobility CEO Cho Youngtak arrives for questioning on the 20th by the special counsel team led by Min Joong-ki, which is investigating allegations involving First Lady Kim Keon-hee. Yonhap News Agency

The Supreme Court’s Second Division, with Justice Kwon Young-jun presiding, upheld on the 12th the lower court’s ruling acquitting Jo and dismissing some charges in his appeal trial. Jo had been indicted on charges including breach of trust and embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes.

Jo was accused of using funds invested in IMS Mobility to acquire shares in a subsidiary and for other purposes, causing the company losses of approximately 3.2 billion won, and of conspiring with Kim to embezzle approximately 2.4 billion won in company funds. He was also charged with ordering an employee to hide a PC ahead of a search and seizure, and with giving approximately 83 million won to a sitting journalist in exchange for favorable coverage of the company.

The first trial found Jo not guilty of some charges, including breach of trust, embezzlement and instigating the concealment of evidence. It dismissed the charges of occupational embezzlement and offering a bribe in breach of trust, ruling that they were outside the scope of the investigation by the Kim Keon-hee special counsel team, led by Special Counsel Min Joong-ki.

The second trial also dismissed the special counsel team’s appeal and upheld the same ruling. Dismissal of an indictment is a procedure that ends a case without ruling on its merits when, for example, the process for bringing charges violated the law.

The Supreme Court likewise found no error in the lower court’s determination that the charges of intentional breach of trust, causing financial loss to the company, embezzlement and instigating the concealment of evidence were not established. It also ruled that the dismissed charges were not sufficiently related to the matters subject to investigation under the Kim Keon-hee Special Counsel Act.

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