Prosecutors and HR Officials Both Appeal in Hana Bank 'Hiring Corruption' Case (Comprehensive)

1st and Appellate Courts: "Some Charges Guilty but No Personal Gain Obtained"

[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, appealed the suspended prison sentences and fines in the appellate court, but both the prosecution and the HR managers have filed appeals against the verdict.

According to the legal community on the 18th, the defense attorney for the Hana Bank HR managers submitted a notice of appeal to the Seoul Western District Court on the same day. The prosecution had also submitted a notice of appeal the day before. The case will be reviewed by the Supreme Court due to appeals from both parties.

Previously, the first trial court found that the HR managers separately created and managed a list of recommended candidates submitted to the HR department, and recognized part of the charges as guilty, concluding that the recommendation list was intended to pass certain applicants. Former Hana Bank HR Director Song (58) was sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year suspension and fined 2 million KRW, his successor Kang (59) was sentenced to eight months in prison with a two-year suspension and fined 1 million KRW. Former HR Team Leaders Oh (53) and Park (53) were fined 10 million KRW each, and Hana Bank as a corporation was fined 7 million KRW.

The appellate court on the 14th 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 for recommended candidates or applicants from certain universities to give opportunities to specific applicants," but also considered "that the defendants did not gain economic benefits from this case personally, nor did they pass the exam for their own children or relatives, and that the defendants worked diligently and the incident occurred in the process of following wrongful practices, making it difficult to place individual responsibility," thus maintaining the sentence.

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 recommended candidates and applicants from certain universities. It was revealed that Hana Bank as a corporation predetermined the acceptance rate for female applicants and mainly hired male applicants.

Meanwhile, Ham Young-joo, Vice Chairman of Hana Financial Group, was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 5 million KRW in the first trial related to the hiring irregularities held last month, with sentencing scheduled for the 25th of this month.

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