SEOUL A South Korean court on Tuesday sentenced 19 former Daewoo Group officials for their roles in distorting financial records at the collapsed conglomerate and handed out fines of about 25 trillion won ($19.16 billion).

According to Reuters, the fines are believed to be the largest by far ever levied in Korea. A court spokesman said it was not immediately clear what criteria the court used in assessing them.

Daewoo collapsed in July 1999, just one month after reassuring creditors that assets topped liabilities by a comfortable 14 trillion won.