The Supreme Court reopened a Rs 10 crore fraud case against former Daechang CFO Moon June Seok. It ruled that protecting foreign investments is key, and the accused must face trial.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India brought back a criminal case against Moon June Seok, who is the former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Daechang Seat Automotive Ltd., a company that makes car seat frames, including for KIA Motors.
Earlier, Moon June Seok was named as one of the people involved in a big financial fraud related to Daechang Seat Automotive. But in 2023, the Karnataka High Court had cancelled the case against him. The High Court said there was no strong proof to continue the case.
However, Daechang Seat Automotive did not agree with this decision. The company filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, asking that the case against Seok should continue.
A bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah heard the case. After studying the details, the Supreme Court judges found that Moon June Seok’s own statement showed there is a chance he might have received money from others who are also accused in the case. Because of this, the Court decided that Seok must face the trial.
The Supreme Court also gave importance to the fact that foreign investors’ money must be protected by Indian law.
The Court clearly said in its judgment dated April 8:
“At this stage, we are unable to convince ourselves that coming to such a conclusion would be just, reasonable, and proper, more so, keeping in view the large amounts of money involved. The rule of law has a responsibility to protect the investments of foreign investors, while at the same time ensuring that any person accused of mishandling such funds is really and fully protected by the power of the phrase ‘innocent till proven guilty’. The appeal is, therefore, allowed.”
In simple terms, the Supreme Court is saying that it would not be fair to cancel the case when such a large amount of money is involved. Also, investments from foreign companies must be safe under Indian laws. At the same time, anyone who is accused should get a fair chance to prove their innocence.
Moon June Seok is accused of being involved in fraud and misuse of around Rs 10 crore. The fraud was done in the name of fake GST payments. Along with him, some chartered accountants and financial advisors are also accused.
The police had registered the case in 2022. Later, a chargesheet was filed, and the trial court took up the case in 2023. But after that, the Karnataka High Court cancelled the case against Seok. The High Court had said that there was no clear evidence to prove that Seok had done anything wrong.
The Karnataka High Court said:
“There is no role to play by this petitioner, except forwarding the bills to the Managing Director. Therefore, without any material evidence collected against the petitioner that the contention of the learned counsel for respondent that the petitioner has conspired with accused Nos.1 to 4 and misappropriated nearly Rs.10 crores, cannot be acceptable.”
This decision of the High Court led Daechang Seat Automotive to move the Supreme Court and challenge that cancellation.
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In the Supreme Court, Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra appeared for Hyeoksoo Son, who is the authorised representative of the aggrieved company Daechang Seat Automotive Ltd.
On the other side, Senior Advocate Rajiv Shakdher appeared for the accused Moon June Seok.
Now that the Supreme Court has allowed the appeal, the criminal case against Seok will continue in the trial court.
CASE TITLE:
Hyeoksoo Son vs Moon June
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