Korea’s major retail chaebol chiefs, or rather, their staff, are on pins and needles ahead of a parliamentary hearing early next month to which they were summoned to answer questions on retail giants’ “unfair trade practices.”

The National Policy Committee said it will call on Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin, Hyundai Department Store Group chairman Chung Ji-sun, Shinsegae Group vice chairman Chung Yong-jin and Shinsegae Co. vice president Chung Yu-kyung, who did not show up at the parliamentary audit earlier this month, to attend the hearing on Nov. 6.

The four were summoned as witnesses to the National Assembly’s audit of the Fair Trade Commission on Oct. 11, but did not appear, citing overseas business trips.

The policy committee said that if they did not show up this time, it would press charges against them.

“The witnesses will be questioned mostly about the sales practices of large retailers and their encroachment upon small stores’ business rights,” a committee official said.

Industry observers widely believe the chaebol scions won’t appear at the hearing since they have nothing to gain and will only likely be mortified.

“The hearing is held based on the premise that large retailers are responsible for unfair trade,” an official at a conglomerate said.

“If they show up, they will only face more attacks (from lawmakers).”

GS Group chairman and head of the lobbying group for the nation’s largest businesses Huh Chang-soo sat at a public hearing last year on corporate social responsibility held by a parliamentary panel only to face humiliating accusations by legislators that conglomerates were bullying small firms.

But not going doesn’t seem to be a smart move either, since the parliamentary panel has threatened to press charges, which would be more of a public disgrace than a penalty for the kin of the nation’s honored tycoons. The punishment for not appearing at the hearing is some fines, albeit a small price for the chaebol.

Spokesmen for the retail mammoths were reluctant to comment about the hearing, saying they do not know of their chairmen’s schedules on Nov. 6.

“We have not yet received the official request to appear at the hearing,” said Moon Sung-hyun, a public relations official at Shinsegae Department Store.

“Vice chairman Chung Yong-jin was in Vietnam last time, so he couldn’t appear at the audit earlier this month. He goes overseas often for sourcing or to sign contracts or MOUs, so we don’t know if he will be able to attend the hearing.”

A Lotte Group spokesman also said he would know of chairman Shin’s schedules on Nov. 6 around next week.

“The chairman couldn’t attend the audit earlier because he was out of the country for business plans that were made months ago, so we informed the National Assembly then that he will be back around late October,” said Lotte’s public relations official Lee Byung-hee.

“He was in the U.S. as of yesterday, and we don’t know whether he will be in Korea or abroad until the week before.”

Hyundai Department Store spokesman Kim Joon-young said he could not comment on anything about the parliamentary hearing, adding that the chairman was currently in Europe.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)