Kim Eun-kyung Sentenced to 2 Years and 6 Months in Prison... Court Says "Caused Distrust in Public Institution Hiring" (Comprehensive)

Former Minister of Environment Kim Eun-kyung, who was prosecuted in the 'Ministry of Environment Blacklist' case, is heading to the courtroom to attend the sentencing trial on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of rights at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu on the afternoon of the 9th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Former Minister of Environment Kim Eun-kyung, who was prosecuted in the 'Ministry of Environment Blacklist' case, was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison in the first trial.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25-1 (Presiding Judge Sunhee Kim) sentenced former Minister Kim on the afternoon of the 9th to this term for abuse of authority and obstruction of rights and ordered her immediate detention in court. The court pointed out, "The possibility of criticism is very high as it caused deep distrust among the public regarding the recruitment process of executives at public institutions." Former Blue House Balanced Personnel Secretary Misook Shin, who was also indicted, was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 3-year probation.

The court judged that former Minister Kim's demand for resignation letters from executives of public institutions under the Ministry of Environment constituted abuse of authority. It also found that setting the quota of executives for the Blue House and the Ministry of Environment respectively, and instructing the Ministry’s division and bureau chiefs who were members of the executive recommendation committee to include these candidates as final nominees, amounted to abuse of authority and obstruction of business. However, the court acquitted the demand for resignation letters from the Director of the National Institute of Ecology, Mr. Lee, and Ministry of Environment officials and employees of affiliated institutions.

Previously, former Minister Kim and former Secretary Shin were indicted on charges of receiving resignation letters from executives of public institutions under the Ministry of Environment appointed during the Park Geun-hye administration and intervening in recruitment so that candidates favored by the Blue House were appointed. It was investigated that from December 2017 to January 2019, they pressured 15 executives of affiliated public institutions to submit resignation letters, of whom 13 resigned. During this process, when Kim, the standing auditor of the Korea Environment Corporation, refused to submit a resignation letter, they allegedly conducted a 'targeted audit' against him, forcing him to step down and attempted to appoint Park, who was pro-government, as his successor.

In the last closing argument, former Minister Kim’s side claimed innocence, stating, "If a government that has obtained democratic legitimacy through elections is prevented from discovering people to implement new policies and giving them opportunities to work, it is against democracy." However, the court rejected this, saying, "This is an illegal practice that must be eradicated," and "There are no justifications or favorable sentencing factors to consider for the defendant’s actions."

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