Korea’s Wealthy Troublemakers (5)-Hyundai Chung Hyun-sun: Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung’s grandson Chung Hyun-sun was sentenced to a one-year imprisonment suspended for two years for violating the narcotics law in 2019. Shown above are confiscated liquid marijuana. Photo courtesy of Incheon Main Customs, Hyundai

Hyundai founder's grandson got suspended jail term for drug use

This is the fifth of a series, which highlights Korea’s wealthy businesspeople who caused troubles related to drugs, alcohol, and power harassment called “gap-jil” here. _ ED.

Chung Ju-yung, a son of a poor farmer, established Hyundai Group in the 1940s to make it one of the largest business conglomerates in South Korea. Hyundai was a dominant player in the 1990s.

The late entrepreneur had a total of eight sons, including Hyundai Motor Group chief Chung Mong-koo, and Hyundai Heavy Industries’ largest shareholder Chung Mong-joon.

The former is the country’s primary automaker while the latter is the world’s foremost shipbuilder.

The Hyundai founder’s youngest son is Chung Mong-il, chairman of Hyundai M Partners. He hardly made headlines as the company is relatively small compared to Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Heavy Industries.

But Chung Mong-il’s name was reported early last year not because of his enterprise but because of his son, a 20 something who was caught smoking marijuana.

His name is Chung Hyun-sun, who worked as vice president for Hyundai Venture Investment, an affiliate of Hyundai M Partners.

In May 2019, Chung Hyun-sun was booked and detained on charges of smoking liquid marijuana 26 times. He was released after a district court handed down a suspended jail term in September 2019. In early 2020, a high court upheld the ruling.

Of note is his younger sister, named Chung Moon-yi, was reportedly fined for consuming marijuana, which is prohibited in South Korea, in 2012.

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