J.ESTINA, a jewelry company, has been indicted along with its CEO, Kim Yu-mi, for allegedly selling approximately 120,000 wristwatches valued at 6 billion won imported from China as domestically produced.
The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office has stated that it indicted Kim Yu-mi, the CEO of J.ESTINA, and four other staff members without detention on charges of violating the Foreign Trade Act on the 5th of last month. The company J.ESTINA was also indicted.
They are accused of selling inexpensive watches imported from China as if they were domestically produced from 2017 to 2023. The Seoul Customs Office referred the case to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in June 2022, and the Central Prosecutors' Office transferred it to the Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, which has jurisdiction over the company's address.
According to prosecutors, they erased the 'made in china' label on the watches with acetone and reassembled the watches to make them appear domestic. Evidence was also uncovered during the investigation that J.ESTINA misled the Public Procurement Service by claiming to have directly produced wristwatches received from other factories. Although they obtained a certificate claiming they produced the watches in their own factory in 2023, they actually supplied products from other companies to the Public Procurement Service. Prosecutors have also applied charges of violating the Distribution Support Act against CEO Kim.
Additionally, prosecutors have filed simplified indictments against five employees, including Kim Ki-moon, the chairman of J.ESTINA, and the Deputy Minister. J.ESTINA's predecessor is 'Romanson,' which was established by Chairman Kim in 1988. A simplified indictment is a procedure in which prosecutors request the court for a summary order to impose fines or administrative penalties without formal trial.
Meanwhile, J.ESTINA issued a statement on the same day, saying, 'This matter is related to Romanson watches and has nothing to do with products of the J.ESTINA brand,' and added, 'We will faithfully engage in all trial processes.'