HDC Holdings Co. Group said on the 17th there was no intent to conceal after the Korea Fair Trade Commission filed a complaint with prosecutors accusing Chair Chung Mong-gyu of failing to properly report the status of companies run by relatives.
In a statement released the same day, HDC Holdings Co. Group said, "It was merely a simple omission in the reporting process for relatives' companies that have from the beginning operated independently without equity holdings or a transaction relationship," and "we express regret over the decision to file a complaint." It added, "SJG Sejong, Intrans Shipping, which are managed by relatives, and their affiliates are companies in which Chair Chung holds no equity at all, and since 1999, when HDC Holdings Co. separated and became independent from Hyundai Group, there has been no transaction and no debt guarantees."
It also noted that "in 2025, through official procedures by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC), they were recognized as independently managed by relatives, officially confirming that they were not substantively under HDC Holdings Co.'s control."
HDC Holdings Co. Group said the only transaction with relatives' companies was a single facilities management service contract for one building between Kunsthalle, an affiliate of SJG Sejong, and Labs, an affiliate of HDC Holdings Co. The transaction size was 190 million won, equivalent to 0.03% of Labs' sales.
HDC Holdings Co. Group said it has improved internal procedures to prevent a recurrence and plans to actively explain in subsequent proceedings that Chair Chung had no intent to conceal anything.
HDC Holdings Co. Group said, "HDC Holdings Co. places compliance management above all else, and we will continue to fulfill the responsibilities of corporations that meet the demands of the times."
Earlier, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint with prosecutors, saying Chair Chung, in submitting materials for designation as a business group subject to restrictions on mutual investment, omitted for up to 19 years 20 companies controlled by a younger sibling and maternal uncle's family from the list of affiliated companies.