Score Manipulation and Gender Discrimination... Guilty Verdict Confirmed for Kookmin Bank Employees in 'Hiring Corruption' Case

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Supreme Court has upheld the guilty verdicts against employees of Kookmin Bank who were involved in fraudulent hiring practices, including manipulating scores during the recruitment process for new employees.

On the 14th, the Second Division of the Supreme Court (Presiding Justice Lee Dongwon) confirmed the lower court's ruling that found the Kookmin Bank recruitment officers guilty of obstruction of business and violations of the Gender Equality in Employment Act during the appeal hearing.

Former HR team leader Oh and others at Kookmin Bank were accused of increasing the scores of 113 male applicants and lowering the scores of 112 female applicants during the first half of 2015's new employee recruitment to raise the male acceptance rate. In particular, they are also charged with manipulating the interview scores of 28 candidates, including 20 who were beneficiaries of favors, to secure their unfair admission during the second interview stage. Additionally, they are accused of manipulating hundreds of document screening and interview scores during the second half of the same year's new recruitment and the 2015-2017 internship recruitment processes to select favored candidates.

The first trial court handed down suspended prison sentences en masse. The court stated, "This betrayed the expectations of applicants who hoped for transparent and fair results. The greatest victims are the applicants themselves," adding, "The disappointment and sense of betrayal they experienced cannot be compensated, causing significant social repercussions. However, Kookmin Bank's recruitment standards differ from those of strict public institutions."

Oh, former vice president Lee, and former HR general manager Kwon, who was head of the Human Resources Support Department, were each sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year suspension in the first trial. Former HR headquarters chief Kim, also tried on the same charges, received a 10-month prison sentence with a two-year suspension, and Kookmin Bank itself was fined 5 million won under the corporate liability provision.

The appellate court overturned the original ruling against Oh and sentenced him to one year in prison without suspension. Oh was taken into custody, but the sentences for the other defendants were upheld. The appellate court explained, "The defendant influenced hiring by raising the scores of specific applicants without reasonable criteria while having access to applicants' personal information," and added, "Compared to other cases, many applicants had their acceptance status changed, indicating a serious nature of the crime."

The Supreme Court's judgment on the day was consistent. The court ruled, "There is no error in the lower court's judgment regarding the failure to conduct necessary hearings, exceeding the limits of free evaluation of evidence, the establishment of obstruction of business, discrimination under the Gender Equality in Employment Act, intent, joint criminal responsibility, or the legal principles concerning non-punishable accompanying acts."

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