Regarding the 'large-scale unresolved settlement incident' involving allegations of embezzlement and breach of trust, Koo Young-bae, CEO of Qoo10 Group, Ryu Kwang-jin, CEO of TMON, and Ryu Hwa-hyun, CEO of WeMakePrice, all denied the charges during the first trial held on the 8th.
On the morning of the same day, the 24th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Director General Lee Young-sun, held the first trial date for Koo, Ryu Kwang-jin, Ryu Hwa-hyun, and 10 others, who were charged without detention on allegations of breach of trust, embezzlement, and fraud under the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes Act.
Koo's defense attorney noted regarding the prosecution's charges that '(the large-scale unresolved settlement incident) resulted from management decisions made during the company's operations' and stated that 'Koo did not wish for this outcome.' They also mentioned that 'while Koo denies the charges, it does not mean he is avoiding responsibility for this incident' and added, 'therefore, it is questionable whether this case falls under criminal liability for breach of trust, embezzlement, etc.'
Ryu Kwang-jin and Ryu Hwa-hyun's defense teams also denied the charges. Ryu Kwang-jin's lawyer stated, 'This incident is primarily led by Koo Young-bae, and Ryu Kwang-jin merely performed his duties as CEO of TMON.' He added, 'It is inappropriate to impose the crimes mentioned by the prosecution on Ryu Kwang-jin.' Ryu Hwa-hyun's lawyer argued that 'Ryu Hwa-hyun accepted the position as CEO of WeMakePrice, believing Koo's promise to share 10% of the profits if WeMakePrice turned a profit,' stating that 'the conspiracy for this incident occurred before he accepted the position, so Ryu Hwa-hyun was unaware of it.'
Koo is accused of colluding with Ryu Kwang-jin and Ryu Hwa-hyun to embezzle approximately 1.85 trillion won in settlement payments owed to TMON and WeMakePrice sellers. He is also charged with embezzling 50 billion won under the pretext of acquisition funds for a U.S. e-commerce company.
They are also charged with causing damages by imposing various costs, including discount expenses totaling 72.71 billion won, on TMON, WeMakePrice, and Interpark Commerce in the process of funneling work to the Korean corporation for the Nasdaq listing of Qoo10 Group's logistics subsidiary, Qxpress, over the past year since July of last year.