SK pair get jail sentences
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Chey Tae-won is the son-in-law of former President Roh Tae-woo.
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SEOUL, South Korea -- The top two executives at the SK Group, South Korea's No. 4 conglomerate, have been given jail sentences, the Seoul District Court said on Friday.
The jail terms, for SK Corp Chairman Chey Tae-won and SK Group Chairman Son Kil-seung, are related to an accounting fraud at the group's trading arm SK Global, and also for illegal stock dealings.
Chey, the son of Chey Jong-hyon, the man who ran the SK Group from 1973 until his death in 1998, was found guilty of accounting fraud and illegal stock dealing and was given a three-year jail term, a judge at the court said.
Chey is the son-in-law of disgraced former South Korean president, Roh Tae-woo.
Son, who was named SK Group chairman in 1998 for a "transition period" until the younger Chey had more experience, was found guilty of accounting fraud and was sentenced to a suspended three-year jail term.
In March, prosecutors found accounting irregularities at SK Global of 1.55 trillion won ($1.3 billion). Since then, creditors and the SK Group have been attempting to negotiate a bailout.
Earlier this week, Yonhap news agency reported that major creditor banks of SK Global agreed in principle to inject some of Chey's assets into the company to help rescue it.
Creditors are expected to approve a bailout plan next week.
