Shin Yong-byeong, Shinhan Financial Group Chairman, Found Not Guilty in 2nd Trial for 'New Employee Recruitment Corruption' (Comprehensive Report 2)

2nd Trial: "Cannot Conclude Fraudulent Acceptance, Difficult to Acknowledge Chairman Jo's Involvement"
..."Legislative Gaps Regulating Hiring Corruption" Also Pointed Out

Cho Yong-byeong, Chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, who is accused of recruitment corruption at Shinhan Bank, is leaving the courtroom after being acquitted at the appellate trial held on the afternoon of the 22nd at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Cho Yong-byeong, Chairman of Shinhan Financial Group (64), who was prosecuted for interfering in the recruitment process of Shinhan Bank's new employees and manipulating scores, was acquitted in the appellate trial.

The court found it difficult to exclude reasonable doubt that the two applicants suspected of being involved by Chairman Cho in the recruitment process may have passed through a legitimate process, and also judged that it was difficult to acknowledge Chairman Cho's involvement in the case of another applicant who appeared to have fraudulently passed the document screening.

On the afternoon of the 22nd, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 6-3 (Presiding Judge Jo Eun-rae) overturned the original sentence of six months imprisonment with a two-year probation and ruled as above in the appeal trial of Chairman Cho, who was charged with obstruction of business and other charges.

On that day, the court stated, "Although the defendant conveyed the fact that a certain applicant applied in the document screening to the then head of HR, and the recruitment team could reasonably be expected to consider the circumstance that 'this applicant was referred by the chairman' during the evaluation stage of each screening, the defendant's expression of intention cannot be regarded as a 'pass instruction.'"

The court also noted, "Currently, there are no legal provisions specifically for recruitment corruption or fraudulent hiring crimes, so in reality, recruitment corruption is dealt with under the criminal law charge of obstruction of business, which protects different legal interests and victims," adding, "The outcome that contradicts general legal sentiment ultimately stems from the absence of separate punitive provisions for recruitment corruption itself or the legislative deficiency in regulating recruitment corruption."

Nevertheless, the court emphasized, "Under the guise of custom, separately distinguishing and managing certain applicants and the recruitment team members being aware of the application facts while conducting recruitment work itself can raise suspicions of fraudulent hiring," and "This can cause a sense of relative deprivation among general applicants due to distrust in fairness. If such bad practices continue among Shinhan Bank officials in the future, it could again be problematic under the name of obstruction of business due to recruitment corruption."

Previously, Chairman Cho and seven HR officials of Shinhan Bank were prosecuted in October 2018 for managing lists of externally recommended applicants and children of Shinhan Bank executives and department heads from the first half of 2013 to the second half of 2016, and providing special favors during the recruitment process.

The first trial found Chairman Cho guilty of obstructing recruitment work by informing the HR department of the application facts and personal relationships of three specific applicants while serving as the president of Shinhan Bank, sentencing him to six months imprisonment with a two-year probation. Chairman Cho appealed against this first trial verdict.

Meanwhile, the other defendants, including the then HR deputy general manager who were also prosecuted, received reduced sentences or maintained acquittals compared to the first trial. This was because the appellate court judged some of the applicants found guilty in the first trial as 'successful candidates who went through legitimate circumstances.'

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