Prosecutors Summon KT Current Vice President Over 'Bid Rigging Allegations'

On the 28th, the prosecution summoned a senior executive identified as the key link in KT Group's 'suspected preferential treatment of subcontractors' for investigation.

The prosecution is investigating a senior executive identified as the key link in KT Group's 'preferential treatment of orders' suspicion on the 28th. The photo shows the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

According to legal circles, the Fair Trade Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jeong-seop) called Shin Hyun-ok, Vice President and Head of KT's Management Division, as a suspect on the morning of the same day. Shin is accused of coercing KT Telecop, a KT Group affiliate in facility management, to allocate work orders to a specific company (violations of the Fair Trade Act and coercion). When arriving at the prosecution, he refrained from commenting on whether he admitted to ordering the preferential treatment of subcontractors, stating, "I will respond through the Public Relations Office."

The prosecution is reported to have secured a recorded phone conversation between Shin and a senior official of KT Telecop. The recording reportedly contains Shin instructing, "Give the subcontracted work to the subcontractor KDFS." When the official expressed difficulty and asked for the instructions to be documented, Shin allegedly pressured, "Just do as you are told."

The prosecution also suspects that Shin repeatedly pressured employees of affiliated companies to allocate work orders to KDFS. During the investigation on this day, Shin was questioned about the specific circumstances under which he ordered the preferential treatment of subcontractors and whether there were instructions from higher-ups, including former KT CEO Koo Geon-mo (59).

Shin was promoted to Vice President in 2020 with the appointment of former CEO Koo. He is known to have close ties with former CEOs Koo and Nam Jung-soo, making him a suspected key figure in the so-called 'KT interest cartel.' With Koo's appointment, KT Group changed the facility management subcontractor from KT Estate to KT Telecop. KT Telecop, as the new subcontractor, is suspected of concentrating work orders that were previously divided among four subcontractors?KDFS, KSmate, KFnS, and KSNC?solely to KDFS.

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