City Hall Officials, After Dismissal, 'Join LH'... 24 Corrupt Public Officials Illegally Rehired

Kwonikwi "Request for Dismissal and Prosecution of 11 People"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Mr. A, who was dismissed for corruption in Sacheon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, was caught by the government for illegally reemployed at LH Building Management, a subsidiary of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH). This case exposed retired public officials who were dismissed for corruption or sentenced to a fine of 3 million won or more while working at public institutions.

On the 24th, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced that it had caught 24 public officials who were illegally reemployed and requested dismissal and prosecution measures for 11 of them. From July 2015 to June last year, the commission inspected the employment status of 1,827 dismissed personnel over the past five years and detected 24 reemployed individuals who violated the 'Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Act.'

Besides Mr. A, Mr. B, who was dismissed from Korea Electric Power Corporation, was reemployed at Yeongju City Hall in Gyeongsangbuk-do, and Mr. C, dismissed from the Cheorwon Plasma Industry Technology Research Institute, and Mr. D, dismissed from Seoul Metropolitan Government, were also reemployed at companies related to corruption. Additionally, seven others dismissed from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Busan Metropolitan City, Hapcheon-gun in Gyeongnam, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, Songpa-gu in Seoul, and Goyang Urban Management Corporation were reemployed at companies related to construction, service, or procurement work of their former departments before retirement.

The commission decided to request dismissal and prosecution for 11 of the 24 violators, excluding 13 who had already retired and reemployed out of necessity for livelihood.

According to the commission, since the law was amended on September 30, 2016, even retired individuals who have been criminally punished are subject to employment restrictions. They cannot be reemployed at institutions related to corruption or companies with business below a certain scale. Accordingly, the obligations of heads of public institutions have increased. They must regularly check whether dismissed personnel have been employed at restricted institutions during the five-year employment restriction period.

Kim Gi-seon, Director of the Review and Protection Bureau at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, said, "The 2016 law amendment expanded the scope of subjects and restricted institutions, minimized blind spots through comprehensive inquiries on pension restrictions and employment status including other income," and added, "We will strengthen education on employment restrictions for dismissed public officials to raise awareness among public servants."

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