Supreme Court indicts Kwon Seong-dong today in 'Kangwon Land hiring corruption' case, concluding after 3 years 7 months... Former CEO Choi Heung-jip also indicted

Kwon Seong-dong, Member of the National Assembly of the People Power Party. / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, legal affairs specialist] The final verdict on the guilt or innocence of Kwon Seong-dong, a member of the People Power Party, who was indicted on charges including requesting the hiring of acquaintances or supporters' children at Kangwon Land, will be announced on the 17th. This comes 3 years and 7 months after his indictment in July 2018. Previously, he was acquitted in both the first and second trials.

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice No Tae-ak) will hold the sentencing hearing for Kwon, who was indicted on charges including obstruction of business, bribery involving a third party, and abuse of authority, on the morning of the same day.

Kwon is accused of conspiring with Choi Heung-jip, then CEO of Kangwon Land, from November 2012 to April the following year during the public recruitment process for trainees at Kangwon Land, to request hiring from the HR manager, resulting in the hiring of 11 people including an intern secretary from his office, thereby obstructing hiring operations through coercion (obstruction of business).

Additionally, Kwon is accused of having his secretary hired as an expert in water quality and environmental fields at Kangwon Land as a reward for accommodating Choi’s improper requests, including the suppression of an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection related to Kangwon Land (bribery involving a third party, obstruction of business), and of exerting pressure on officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to appoint a high school classmate who helped with his election campaign as an outside director of Kangwon Land (abuse of authority).

In the first trial, the court acquitted Kwon regarding the allegations of hiring corruption during the trainee recruitment process and the hiring of the secretary with career experience, stating that the testimonies of former CEO Choi and others were unreliable.

The court found insufficient evidence to consider Kwon and former CEO Choi as accomplices, acknowledged that some requests were made but judged them not to be improper requests.

Furthermore, the court ruled that the charge of Kwon’s involvement in the appointment of Kangwon Land’s outside director was not proven. It was not demonstrated that officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy abused their authority to obstruct the exercise of the right to nominate outside directors, and even if such acts occurred, it was difficult to conclude that Kwon conspired in them.

The second trial court upheld this judgment.

The court stated, "The issue is whether the defendant requested favors from former CEO Choi," and added, "Although the substantive truth is unknown, it appears that the prosecution failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt to exclude the judge’s reasonable suspicion."

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will also announce the verdict on the appeal of former CEO Choi on the same day. This comes 4 years and 10 months after his indictment on April 20, 2017.

Former CEO Choi was indicted on charges of obstruction of business and coercion for receiving hiring requests from Kwon and others between 2012 and 2013, and instructing manipulation of applicants’ self-introductions and interview scores to ensure their acceptance. He was sentenced to three years in prison in both the first and second trials.

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