SPC Chairman Hur Young-in (Newsis)

A court on Thursday approved a bail request by Hur Young-in, the chair of bakery giant SPC Group, who is currently standing trial on charges of coercing bakers to quit their labor union.

The 74-year-old bakery mogul was arrested in April and has since been standing trial in detention on charges of pressuring some 570 union members at an SPC subsidiary to quit their union between early 2021 and mid-2022 over their labor activities critical of the company.

The Seoul Central District Court approved Hur's bail application on condition that he pays a deposit of 100 million won (US$74,600) and abstains from contact with people involved in his cases and trials. He filed for bail in July, but the same court rejected the request.