‘Hiring Corruption and Real Estate Speculation Allegations’ Seongjanghyeon Yongsangu District Mayor Not Prosecuted

Police Decide Not to Prosecute Due to Insufficient Evidence and Lack of Prosecution Rights

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] The police have concluded ‘no charges’ against Seong Janghyun, the mayor of Yongsan-gu, who was accused of recruitment corruption and real estate speculation.

The Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 30th that it had dismissed the case against Mayor Seong, who was reported on the 23rd for charges including obstruction of official duties by deception, abuse of authority, and violation of the Act on the Fairness of Recruitment Procedures. The real estate speculation charges were also dismissed.

Regarding the charge of obstruction of official duties by deception, the police stated, “There is insufficient evidence to consider that Mayor Seong obstructed official duties by deception, such as coercing personnel in charge of recruitment, to hire 10 people as general office workers at the Yongsan-gu Facilities Corporation over 10 occasions from September 2010 to May 2019.” They also noted that the statute of limitations for this crime is seven years, so there is no prosecution right for acts that occurred before 2015.

For the abuse of authority charge, the police judged that there was ‘insufficient evidence’ and that the statute of limitations had expired, thus no prosecution right exists.

Regarding the violation of the Act on the Fairness of Recruitment Procedures, the police also found ‘insufficient evidence’ and ruled no charges.

Mayor Seong was accused of instructing personnel related to recruitment at the Yongsan-gu Facilities Corporation to hire specific individuals he designated on 10 occasions from September 2010 to May 2019.

Additionally, Mayor Seong faced charges of speculation and conflict of interest for purchasing a multi-family house in the Hannam 4 Redevelopment Promotion Zone jointly with his two sons in their 30s for 1.99 billion won from January to July 2015.

The Yongsan-gu residents’ group ‘Citizens’ Action to Condemn Mayor Seong Janghyun’s Real Estate Speculation’ reported Mayor Seong to the prosecution early last year. Subsequently, the civic group Halbindan reported Mayor Seong to the police in March last year for violating the Anti-Corruption Act.

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