'YG Producer Returns' Yang Hyun-suk Back in Court After 6 Months [Star Issues]

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Yang Hyun-seok, the executive producer of YG Entertainment, will appear in court again after six months.

The Seoul Western District Court's Criminal Division 11 (Panel N) will hold the third court session on Yang Hyun-suk's violation of the Heavy Punishment Act for Specific Crimes (Customs) charges on July 4th. This will be Yang Hyun-suk's first appearance as a defendant in 6 months since January.

The Busan District Prosecutors' Office Public International Crime Investigation Division indicted Yang Hyun-suk, the general producer, on these charges without detention last September 2024, according to prosecutors. They state that in September 2014, when Yang Hyun-suk entered through Incheon International Airport, he allegedly brought in two luxury watches worth a total of 828 million won without declaring them to customs.

Immediately after, YG released an official statement saying, "We deeply regret the hasty and unreasonable decision made by the prosecution as the statute of limitations for indictment was about to expire after 10 years." YG also stated, "In 2017, CEO Yang Hyun Suk cooperated fully with the investigation and, as a public figure who did not want to be involved in even minor issues, submitted all the sponsored watches to the investigating authorities voluntarily. During the investigation process, the statements of the company representative were changed frequently. Without thoroughly investigating the witnesses, the prosecution concluded that the sponsored items were imported into the country without customs declaration and proceeded with the indictment."

In the trial, both sides were seen engaged in an evidence battle over the facts regarding Yang Hyun-seok's secret return to the country.

On this day, the prosecution mentioned the charges and stated, "Yang Hyun-suk requested a watch from someone before his departure to Singapore on March 27, 2014, to March 29, 2014. After being informed that the watch was ready, he departed for Singapore on September 12, 2014, and received a watch worth 208,760,000 won in actual cost on September 13, 2014. He started wearing this watch at an investment agreement ceremony scheduled for that day. From September 13 to September 15, 2014, he also received another black watch worth 33,168,712 won in actual cost as a gift in the suite room. On September 16, 2014, he entered South Korea through Incheon International Airport with these two watches and smuggled them into the country by not declaring them to customs, with the total actual cost of the two watches being 241,276,319 won."

The prosecution questioned the Richard Mille Asia CEO who mentioned that YANG Hyun-suk was given a watch, the fact that the witness did not enter the country by the time the broadcast showed images of him wearing the watch, and also the point that the watch was shipped out in September.

On the other hand, Yang Hyun-suk's lawyer argued, "The evidence that a watch was handed over to Yang Hyun-suk in Singapore should have been presented, and the charge would be proven if he had entered the country with the watch, but there is no evidence that he possessed the watch at that time."

The lawyer emphasized, "This watch was received domestically. The watch was returned during the middle of attending the agreement ceremony and then I returned home. Although I don't remember the exact location after that, around that time, I received the watch again through internal staff for promotion and sponsorship purposes within the country." He continued, "In 2013, the Richard Mille Asia regional representative asked me to wear the watch on broadcast to increase visibility at a time when my recognition was rising. After that, I returned it. There are also photos of me wearing the watch on broadcasts or blogs after that. If you add up all the watches I've worn, it comes to about six. And since the watch was received domestically, it does not constitute a violation of customs law," he said as his basic stance.

In addition, the defense attorney said, "(For the charges to be proven) it should be captured when entering with the items in possession, but that's not the case. Moreover, it should be a natural assumption that two watches entered simultaneously through Incheon International Airport, but there is no evidence at all. Furthermore, for it to apply to customs law violations, the post-tax cost must exceed 200 million won, but even combining the prices of the two watches, it's only around 230 million won, and one of them barely exceeds 200 million won. Therefore, it should be premised that they entered separately at different times, and (taxes) should be paid accordingly. Moreover, since it is unclear how the value of the items is calculated, and since it does not distinguish the purpose or actual payment of money in Singapore, bringing in these high-value watches worth more than 200 million won at once and charging them under special laws also seems questionable."

Along with this, the defense attorney emphasized that "this case is extremely unusual," stating, "The key witness in this case has already undergone evidence preservation and testimony at the Busan District Court. The important event that brought this case to light was when a Richard Mille employee was caught smuggling watches without declaration in March 2017, leading to an investigation that uncovered nearly ten billion won worth of smuggled goods by 2019. These items were moving between Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and other places, and among them were items that Yang Hyun-suk had possessed. We submitted all three watches that were allegedly carried for sponsorship purposes." He also said, "This witness, who is the overall representative of Richard Mille Asia, usually enters Korea two or three times a year, but since the incident in 2017, he has not entered Korea until now due to investigations. He last entered in June, but was prevented from leaving the country as he became involved in this case and the prosecution imposed an exit ban. The exit ban period was extended by one month because the statute of limitations for this case expires around September 16th."

The lawyer argued, "In this case, there are specific circumstances such as limited materials related to evidence and hasty witness examinations, as well as insufficient time after the indictment." He continued, "It is a principle of criminal proceedings that all materials should be thoroughly contested in an open court. However, with only limited materials received under urgent circumstances, key witnesses had enough context to change their statements hastily, in a way that was favorable to them."

According to Article 241 of the Customs Act, when importing goods from abroad, one must declare the name, specifications, quantity, price, and other matters prescribed by presidential decree. If goods are imported without declaration, the person may be subject to imprisonment for up to five years or a fine equivalent to the higher amount of ten times the customs duty or the value of the goods. In cases where the value of the imported goods is 200 million won or more but less than 500 million won, the perpetrator will be subject to enhanced punishment under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.