39 Public Officials Dismissed for Violations of Employment Restriction Regulations Detected

Request for dismissal and prosecution measures to previous affiliated institutions of 24 dismissed violators
Employment status inspection for 2,064 dismissed personnel over the past 5 years

Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Mr. A, who was dismissed from the National Assembly Secretariat, was caught after being re-employed as an aide to a member of the National Assembly at the same institution.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) caught 39 retired public officials like Mr. A who violated employment restriction regulations by being re-employed at other public institutions or private companies related to their duties after being dismissed for corruption or sentenced to a fine of 3 million won or more while working at public institutions.

On the 25th, the ACRC announced that it had identified 39 individuals who violated Article 82 of the Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Operation of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission by being re-employed, and requested dismissal, prosecution, or other measures from their former institutions for 24 of them. Among the 24, those still employed were requested to be dismissed (including measures to lift employment), and those without special considerations were requested for prosecution. Fifteen had already retired and were excluded from prosecution due to special considerations such as livelihood employment.

According to the law, public officials who have been automatically retired, dismissed, or removed due to corruption related to their duties during employment cannot be employed for five years at public institutions, institutions related to corruption, or profit-making private companies closely related to the departments or institutions they belonged to within five years before retirement. Violations are punishable by imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million won. Heads of public institutions must periodically verify whether such dismissed individuals have been employed at restricted institutions during the five-year restriction period.

The ACRC inspected the employment status of 2,064 public officials dismissed for corruption over five years from July 2014 to June last year.

For example, Mr. B, dismissed from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, was re-employed as a medical department head at a public medical center; Mr. C, dismissed from Changwon City, was re-employed as a fixed-term public official at the same institution; Mr. D, dismissed from Yeonsu District, Incheon Metropolitan City, was re-employed as an installation technician at a public-related organization; and Mr. E, dismissed from the National Police Agency for corruption, joined the related corruption institution.

Mr. F, Mr. G, and Mr. H, who were dismissed for corruption or sentenced to a fine of 3 million won or more at Korail Logistics, Busan Metropolitan City, and Korea Water Resources Corporation respectively, were re-employed at institutions related to corruption that handled the departments they belonged to before retirement or companies related to the work they were involved in.

Sixteen individuals subject to employment restrictions who were dismissed from their former institutions such as the Ministry of Employment and Labor were re-employed at companies that handled permits, approvals, contracts, inspections, or acceptance of construction, services, or goods purchases in their former departments, which could significantly affect the property rights of the employing institutions.

Han Samseok, Director of the Review and Protection Bureau at the ACRC, said, "Since the 2016 amendment removed the size limitation on companies related to restricted employment duties, violations have increased," and added, "We are working on a legislative amendment to mandate prior notification to those subject to employment restrictions to address shortcomings in the system."

He continued, "This inspection was conducted with careful judgment, including holding a meeting of the Employment Restriction Advisory Committee for the first time to enhance the objectivity and expertise of the system operation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.