Court Suspends Sentences and Imposes Fines on Former Hana Bank HR Officers in Second Trial

Court: "Betraying Applicant's Trust Amid Severe Employment Crisis"
Han Young-joo, Vice Chairman of Hana Financial Group, Faces Appeal Verdict on 25th This Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] Former HR managers of Hana Bank, who were accused of hiring irregularities such as giving preferential treatment to certain applicants during the recruitment process, were sentenced to suspended prison terms and fines in the appellate court following the first trial.

The Seoul Western District Court Criminal Appeal Division 1-3 (Presiding Judges Seong Jiho, Park Yangjun, Jeong Gyesun) on the 14th sentenced former Hana Bank HR manager Song Mo (59), who was indicted for obstruction of business and other charges, to one year in prison with a two-year suspension and a fine of 2 million KRW, the same sentence as in the first trial. The court upheld the original sentence for Song’s successor Kang Mo (59), sentencing him to eight months in prison with a two-year suspension and a fine of 1 million KRW.

The court also imposed a fine of 10 million KRW, the same as in the first trial, on former Hana Bank HR team leaders Oh Mo (53) and Park Mo (53), who were charged with the same offenses. The court maintained the original sentence of a 7 million KRW fine on Hana Bank as a corporation, which was charged with violating the Act on Gender Equality in Employment and Support for Work-Family Balance.

The court stated, “In a situation where employment difficulties are severe and fairness has become an important value, Hana Bank obstructed the work of interviewers and the bank by changing and manipulating scores to give opportunities to certain applicants based on recommendations or being from specific universities,” and ruled, “The defendants’ actions betrayed the trust of applicants and significantly infringed upon Hana Bank’s fair business operations.”

However, the court explained the sentencing rationale by considering, “The defendants did not personally gain economic benefits from this case nor did they have their children or relatives pass the recruitment, and the acts occurred in the process of faithfully working while following wrongful practices, making it difficult to place individual responsibility solely on them.”

Former Hana Bank HR managers were accused of creating a so-called ‘VIP list’ during the 2015-2016 Hana Bank new employee recruitment process and giving preferential treatment to recommenders and applicants from specific universities. It was revealed that Hana Bank as a corporation set a predetermined acceptance rate for female applicants and mainly hired male applicants.

Accordingly, the first trial court recognized part of the charges as guilty, finding that the HR managers separately created and managed a recommendation list delivered to the HR department, and that the recommendation list was intended to ensure the acceptance of specific applicants.

Meanwhile, Ham Youngjoo (66), Vice Chairman of Hana Financial Group, who served as Hana Bank president during the time the hiring irregularities occurred and was indicted for ordering HR managers to conduct irregular hiring, was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 5 million KRW in the first trial last month, with sentencing scheduled for the 25th of this month.

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