Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Corp, the South Korean oil refiner, yesterday strongly denied any role in a $1.2bn accounting scandal at affiliate SK Networks, opening his appeal of the fraud conviction that has invited intense scrutiny of both his management and his company.

At an appellate court hearing in Seoul, Mr Chey responded to his defence lawyers' question about his role in the accounting scandal by saying he was not the chairman of the group's parent company, SK Group, and so had no responsibility for the scandal. He added that he did not authorise irregular bookkeeping at SK Networks and nor was he briefed on it.