Supreme Court: "Dismissal of Former Vietnam Ambassador Kim Dohyun Justified"... "Violation of Kim Youngran Act Recognized"

The Supreme Court has ruled that the president's dismissal of former Ambassador to Vietnam Kim Dohyun, who received hotel accommodations and free golf rounds from acquaintances provided by local companies, was justified.

The Improper Solicitation and Graft Act (Kim Young-ran Act) excludes transportation, lodging, and food provided by the host at official events related to a public official's duties from the list of prohibited items in certain cases. However, the court judged that the case exceeded the 'customary scope' permitted by the law.

Supreme Court, Seocho-dong, Seoul.

The Supreme Court's Second Division (Presiding Justice Lee Dongwon) announced on the 12th that it overturned the lower court's ruling in favor of the plaintiff in the appeal filed by former Ambassador Kim against the Minister of Foreign Affairs, seeking to cancel the president's dismissal and disciplinary surcharge imposed on him, and remanded the case to the Seoul High Court.

After passing the Foreign Service Examination and working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, former Ambassador Kim retired honorably in 2013 and worked as an executive at Samsung Electronics. In April 2018, he was appointed as a special envoy (a non-career diplomat) and named Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Vietnam.

During his tenure, allegations of violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and abusive behavior toward embassy staff surfaced. In May 2019, following a disciplinary decision by the Central Disciplinary Committee, he was dismissed and fined double the disciplinary surcharge by the president in June of the same year.

The main grounds for his disciplinary action were ▲ violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act by receiving hotel accommodations worth approximately USD 1,590 from a local Vietnamese company ▲ requesting free lodging and golf rounds for the spouses of former colleagues visiting Da Nang, Vietnam (violation of the Code of Conduct for Public Officials) ▲ receiving airline tickets and porcelain gifts from local companies and returning them the next day but failing to report them (violation of the Public Officials Ethics Act) ▲ abusive language and behavior toward embassy staff.

The lower courts delivered mixed results in the lawsuit filed by former Ambassador Kim challenging the disciplinary action.

The first trial recognized most of the disciplinary reasons against Kim and found no issue with the dismissal. However, the second trial ruled that the dismissal and other disciplinary actions were illegal due to abuse and deviation of discretionary power and canceled the dismissal.

The second trial court judged that arranging meetings between former and current executives of Samsung Electronics, where Kim had previously worked, and local Vietnamese company officials should be considered part of his official duties as ambassador. It also concluded that receiving free hotel accommodations from a local company was allowed under the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act since it was provided at an official event related to his duties.

However, the Supreme Court reversed the conclusion.

The key issue was whether the hotel accommodations provided to former Ambassador Kim and his spouse by a local company fell under the exemption clause of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.

The Supreme Court judged that the case exceeded the permissible scope under the Act, unlike the second trial court. The Act allows lodging provided uniformly by the host to attendees at official events related to duties within a 'customary scope.' In this case, Kim and his spouse received accommodations at a hotel more expensive than those of other attendees, and the provision of free lodging for three nights and four days for an event that involved only one official meeting and dinner was considered exceptional.

The court stated, "The Improper Solicitation and Graft Act excludes lodging provided by the host to attendees at official events related to duties within the 'customary scope' from the range of prohibited items. Here, 'customary scope' means the degree necessary to meet socially accepted ordinary standards. Whether lodging provided to public officials falls within the customary scope should be judged comprehensively by considering the purpose and scale of the official event where the lodging was provided, the circumstances under which the lodging was provided, and the level of lodging provided at the same or similar events."

Additionally, the court found that former Ambassador Kim's request to a local company to provide free lodging to his acquaintances constituted the exercise of de facto influence derived from his position, violating the Code of Conduct for Public Officials. Furthermore, even though he returned the airline tickets and porcelain gifts the next day, failing to report them immediately was deemed a violation of the reporting obligation under the Public Officials Ethics Act.

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