Mirae Asset affiliates that were sent to trial on charges of unlawfully supporting corporations run by the Mirae Asset Group owner family have been acquitted with finality. However, they definitively lost an administrative suit arguing that the Korea Fair Trade Commission's imposition of a penalty surcharge in the same matter was unjust.
The Supreme Court's Second Division (Presiding Justice Eom Sang-pil) on the 25th finalized lower court rulings acquitting Mirae Asset Global Investments and Mirae Asset Life Insurance of violating the fair trade law.
The two companies were summarily indicted on allegations that, from January 2015 to December 2016, they funneled work to the owner family by making it a principle to use the Blue Mountain CC golf course (now Sagewood CC), operated by Mirae Asset Consulting, in which Chairman Park Hyeon-ju and other members of the owner family held 91.86% equity, and by conducting a total transaction of 24 billion won.
A summary indictment is a procedure in which prosecutors petition the court to impose a fine or fines based solely on written review. Accepting the prosecutors' request, the court in April 2022 issued a summary order fining each of the two companies 30 million won. The two companies, however, contested the summary order and requested a formal trial.
The first trial acquitted the two companies. The first-trial panel said, "It is hard to view that there was an intent to attribute undue profits merely because Mirae Asset Consulting generated sales through a transaction with the defendants."
The appeals court also acquitted them. The appellate panel said, "Based solely on the evidence submitted by the prosecutor, it is difficult to find that there was intent by the Mirae Asset affiliates to attribute undue profits to related parties through a golf course transaction."
The Supreme Court dismissed the prosecutor's appeal, saying the lower court did not misunderstand the legal principles of the fair trade law or omit any determinations.
However, the Supreme Court on the same day ruled that the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC)'s disposition imposing a 4.3 billion won penalty surcharge on Mirae Asset in the same matter was justified.
In September 2020, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) issued a corrective order and imposed a 4.391 billion won penalty surcharge, saying that Mirae Asset affiliates, without reasonable comparison, conducted transactions with Mirae Asset Consulting on a considerable scale and attributed undue profits to related parties.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) viewed that when Mirae Asset affiliates entertained clients or purchased gifts, they used Blue Mountain CC and the Four Seasons Hotel to generate about 43 billion won in sales, and as a result, related parties including Chairman Park obtained undue benefits in the form of stabilizing the golf course business and growing the hotel business.
Mirae Asset filed an administrative suit challenging the disposition. In July 2023, the Seoul High Court found the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC)'s disposition lawful, considering, among other things, that the Mirae Asset affiliates did not go through a proper process for selecting transaction counterparties.
The Supreme Court's Special Division 1 (Presiding Justice Ma Yong-ju) dismissed the appeal and finalized the ruling against the plaintiff.