Published : Feb. 22, 2017 - 11:35
South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday sought a one-year jail term for the youngest son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn for assaulting bar employees and resisting arrest while under the influence of alcohol.
The Seoul Central District Court held a hearing on Kim Dong-seon, 27, over allegations he assaulted employees at a bar in southern Seoul and damaged a police car that was carrying him to a local police station for interrogation in January.
Kim Dong-seon, the third son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court on Feb. 22, 2017, to attend a hearing on charges that he allegedly assaulted two bar employees and destroyed a patrol car while being escorted to a police station. (Yonhap)
During the hearing, the youngest of Chairman Kim's three sons admitted to all charges leveled against him, including violence, obstruction of business and destruction of public assets.
"I deeply regret what I have done and feel sorry for the victims," Kim told the courtroom. "I will make sure it won't happen again."
The court will hold a verdict hearing on March 8.
Kim was a gold medalist at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games' group equestrian event and worked at the construction unit of the country's eighth-largest business group until the court issued a warrant to formally arrest him last month.
Crimes involving conglomerate owners and their families are often subject to intense public criticism in South Korea. A daughter of the Korean Air Lines Co. CEO stepped down from her post as the carrier's vice president after receiving a suspended sentence for inflicting violence and ordering the chief steward off a taxiing flight in New York in late 2014. (Yonhap)