[Edaily Reporter Sung Gha-hyun ] Cho Young-tak, CEO of IMS Mobility, who is accused of embezzling investment funds along with Kim Ye-seong—known as the “butler” to First Lady Kim Keon-hee’s family—was acquitted again in the appellate court.

On the 26th, the 6-3 Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Min Dal-gi) dismissed the appeal filed by the Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor’s Office against CEO Cho, who was charged with violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust), among other charges, and ruled him not guilty and dismissed the indictment.

CEO Cho is considered a central figure in the “Butler Gate” scandal, alongside Mr. Kim, who was identified as the butler for Mrs. Kim’s family. The core allegation of the scandal is that IMS Mobility—a company in which Mr. Kim was involved in its establishment—received approximately 18.4 billion won in investments in June 2023 from nine major corporations, including Kakao Mobility and HSHYOSUNG, as well as financial and securities firms, while in a state of capital impairment, by leveraging its close relationship with Mrs. Kim.

However, as the special prosecution team was unable to establish a direct link to Mrs. Kim, CEO Cho was ultimately indicted on charges of embezzling 3.5 billion won and committing breach of trust amounting to 3.2 billion won during the process in which IMS Mobility received investments from multiple companies and used a portion of those funds to repurchase its own existing shares.

In addition, CEO Cho was charged with pressuring Mr. Kang, a reporter for a business newspaper, to write favorable articles about the company and providing him with gift certificates and corporate credit cards worth 84 million won in return. He was also charged with instructing someone to hide a computer just before a search and seizure.

Previously, the first-instance court found CEO Cho not guilty of breach of trust, violation of the Act on External Audits of Corporations, and incitement to conceal evidence, while dismissing the charges of embezzlement in the course of business and bribery related to breach of trust.

The appellate court announced today that it would uphold the first-instance ruling.

Regarding the charges dismissed in the first trial, the court stated, “The special counsel argues that an investigation falling outside the scope of the Special Counsel Act constitutes a procedural issue, and that even if evidence was illegally obtained, the indictment cannot be deemed invalid,” “However, considering that the Special Prosecutor holds a special status that allows him to investigate and file charges only in specific cases deemed inappropriate for handling under the general prosecution system, it is logically clear that the Special Prosecutor lacks the authority to file charges regarding facts not included within the scope of his investigation.”

Regarding the charges for which he was acquitted, he stated, “In light of the circumstances established in the lower court and those acknowledged in the appellate court, the Special Prosecutor’s argument is without merit.”

Meanwhile, the court upheld the first-instance rulings of acquittal and dismissal of charges for Mr. Min, CEO of Oasis Equity Partners; Ms. Jeong, the spouse of Mr. Kim Ye-seong, who is known as Mrs. Kim Keon-hee’s butler; and journalist Mr. Kang, who were indicted alongside her. Mr. Mo, a director at IMS Mobility who was tried on charges of concealing evidence, was sentenced to a fine of 7 million won, consistent with the first-instance ruling.