▲ 대전지방.고등법원     ©김정환 기자

타이어뱅크 김정규 회장이 대리점 명의 위장 등을 통한 수십억 원대 탈세 혐의로 법원에서 징역 3년과 벌금 141억 원을 선고받고 항소심에서 법정구속됐다. 

이는 1심에서 실형을 받았지만 바로 구속되지는 않았던 것과 대조적이다.

대전고등법원 형사1부(재판장 박진환)는 7월 23일, 김정규 회장이 특정범죄가중처벌법 위반(조세), 업무상 횡령 등의 혐의로 기소된 사건의 항소심에서 실형과 함께 높은 벌금을 선고했다. 

김 회장은 일부 타이어뱅크 매장을 실제 점주가 운영하는 것처럼 꾸며 현금 매출을 누락하거나, 거래 명세를 축소 신고하는 방식으로 세금을 포탈한 혐의로 2017년 기소되어 재판을 받아왔다.

검찰은 전국 수백 곳의 대리점 점주를 실제 직원이 아닌 개별 사업자로 위장하는 이른바 '명의 위장' 수법을 통해 종합소득세와 양도소득세 등 80억 원대의 세금을 탈루했다고 봤으나, 행정소송과 공소장 변경 등을 거치면서 최종 포탈액은 39억 원으로 줄었다.

항소심 재판부는 "회장이라는 우월적 지위에서 다수 임직원을 동원해 장기간 조직적으로 범행했고, 명의 위장 외에도 차명 주식계좌를 통한 양도소득세 회피 등 죄질이 무겁다"고 지적했다. 

실제 1심에서는 징역 4년과 벌금 100억 원이 선고됐으나, 피고인의 방어권 행사 등을 이유로 법정구속은 하지 않았었다. 그러나 항소심에서는 실형과 더불어 즉시 구속이라는 단호한 조치가 이뤄졌다.

함께 기소된 이재진 타이어뱅크 부회장에게는 징역 2년 6개월에 벌금 141억 원이 선고됐으며 양벌규정으로 함께 기소된 타이어뱅크 법인에는 벌금 1억 원이 선고됐다.

또한 나머지 피고인 4명에게는 징역 2년~2년 6개월에 집행유예 4~5년이 각각 선고됐다.

김정규 회장은 선고 직후 "재판부를 제대로 설득하지 못해 억울함이 크다"며 무죄를 주장했으나, 법원은 이 같은 주장을 받아들이지 않았다.

*아래는 위 기사를 '구글 번역'으로 번역한 영문 기사의 [전문]입니다. '구글번역'은 이해도를 높이기를 위해 노력하고 있습니다. 영문 번역에 오류가 있을 수 있음을 전제로 합니다.<*The following is [the full text] of the English article translated by 'Google Translate'. 'Google Translate' is working hard to improve understanding. It is assumed that there may be errors in the English translation.>

Tirebank Chairman Kim Jeong-gyu, Detained in Court for '3 Years in Prison' in Appeal Trial

Tirebank Chairman Kim Jeong-gyu was sentenced to 3 years in prison and a fine of 14.1 billion won by the court for tax evasion worth tens of billions of won through disguising dealership names, and was detained in court in the appeal trial.

This is in contrast to the fact that he was sentenced to prison in the first trial but was not immediately detained.

On July 23, the Daejeon High Court Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Park Jin-hwan) sentenced Chairman Kim Jeong-gyu to prison and a high fine in the appeal trial of a case in which he was indicted on charges of violating the Aggravated Punishment Act for Specific Crimes (tax evasion) and embezzlement.

Chairman Kim was indicted in 2017 and put on trial on charges of tax evasion by pretending that some Tirebank stores were actually operated by store owners and omitting cash sales or underreporting transaction details.

The prosecution believed that the company had evaded 8 billion won in taxes, including comprehensive income tax and capital gains tax, through the so-called 'name disguise' method of disguising hundreds of dealership owners nationwide as individual business owners rather than actual employees. However, the final amount of tax evasion was reduced to 3.9 billion won after administrative litigation and changes to the indictment.

The appellate court pointed out that "the company mobilized many executives and employees to commit the crime systematically over a long period of time from its superior position as chairman, and in addition to name disguise, the crime is serious, including evading capital gains tax through stock accounts in other people's names."

In the first trial, the company was sentenced to 4 years in prison and a fine of 10 billion won, but the defendant was not detained in court due to the defendant's exercise of his right to defense. However, in the appeal trial, a firm measure of immediate detention was taken in addition to the prison sentence.

Vice Chairman Lee Jae-jin of Tire Bank, who was indicted together, was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison and a fine of 14.1 billion won, and Tire Bank Corporation, which was indicted together under the dual punishment provision, was fined 100 million won.

In addition, the remaining four defendants were sentenced to 2 to 2 years and 6 months in prison and 4 to 5 years of probation.

Immediately after the sentencing, Chairman Kim Jeong-gyu claimed innocence, saying, "I feel very wronged because I was unable to properly persuade the court," but the court did not accept this claim.