Prosecutors seek fines for 4 owners of retail giants

Prosecutors said Monday they have asked for summary judgments and sought fines against four heads of the country’s major retail conglomerates on charges of not attending parliamentary audits.

The four are Chung Yong-jin, vice chairman of Shinsegae Group; Shin Dong-bin, chairman of Lotte Group; Chong Ji-sun, chairman of Hyundai Department Store Co.; and Chung Yu-kyung, vice president of Shinsegae Department Store, according to prosecutors.

They are accused of not responding to the government’s call to appear at the hearings and audits of the National Assembly between October and November of last year, citing different reasons such as overseas business trips, they said.

The audits were held as part of the government’s drive to probe into large conglomerates having too much power over small retailers and traditional marketplaces in the retail sector.

Prosecutors said they are seeking 7 million won ($6,628) in fines for Chung, 5 million for Shin, and 4 million won each for the other two.

“We took everything comprehensively into consideration such as the schedule and the purpose of the overseas business trips,” a prosecution official said. (Yonhap News)