Supreme Court Confirms 1-Year Prison Sentence for Former Lawmaker Yeom Dong-yeol in Gangwon Land Hiring Corruption Case... Guilty of Obstruction of Business Charges

Former Yeom Dong-yeol, United Future Party lawmaker. / Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The guilty verdict against former Future United Party (predecessor of the People Power Party) lawmaker Yeom Dong-yeol, who was indicted for abusing his position as a member of the National Assembly to exert influence on Kangwon Land to hire acquaintances, has been finalized.

The Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Lee Heung-gu) on the 17th upheld the lower court's ruling that recognized Yeom's guilt on charges of obstruction of business in his appeal trial for abuse of authority and other charges, confirming the one-year prison sentence.

The court stated, "There is no error affecting the judgment such as violating the rules of logic and experience, exceeding the limits of free evaluation of evidence, or misunderstanding the legal principles regarding coercion in obstruction of business, the object of the act, the third-party nature of the business, and co-conspirator liability in the original judgment that found the charges in this case to be guilty."

Yeom, whose constituency was Jeongseon County in Gangwon Province where Kangwon Land is located, was indicted for pressuring Kangwon Land's HR team leader and others from November 2012 to April the following year to unlawfully hire dozens of acquaintances or supporters' children during the first and second trainee recruitment processes.

He claimed, "I only engaged in policy activities for regional consideration and did not make any personal requests," adding, "The principle of prioritizing employment for children from mining areas is the reason for the existence of the Special Act on Support for Development of Mining Areas (Special Act) and a responsibility and promise to uphold." However, the court's judgment differed.

Earlier, the first trial recognized Yeom's guilt on obstruction of business charges for involvement in the unlawful hiring of about ten people during the first trainee recruitment process and sentenced him to one year in prison.

The court judged, "It is recognized that the defendant delivered a list of candidates to be requested through his aide to Kangwon Land, and the CEO of Kangwon Land, who conspired with the defendant, exercised coercion over HR staff, which interfered with or posed a risk to the work of the HR staff and Kangwon Land."

However, regarding the abuse of authority charge in the first recruitment process, the court acquitted him, stating, "There is insufficient evidence that the defendant's hiring request was made under the exercise of authority related to the general duties of a member of the National Assembly or a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports, Tourism, Broadcasting and Communications Committee."

Also, for the abuse of authority and obstruction of business charges related to the second recruitment process, the court acquitted him, citing "insufficient evidence that the defendant made hiring requests to Kangwon Land as alleged in the indictment regarding the second trainee recruitment."

The second trial also found no problem with the first trial's judgment, dismissing appeals from both the prosecution and Yeom, but considering the spread of COVID-19 infections in detention centers and the lack of flight risk, did not order detention in court..

The Supreme Court found no legal errors in the second trial's judgment and confirmed the guilty verdict.

Meanwhile, earlier on the 17th of last month, the Supreme Court confirmed a three-year prison sentence for former Kangwon Land CEO Choi Heung-jip, who was indicted for obstruction of business and coercion for receiving hiring requests from former lawmakers Yeom Dong-yeol and Kwon Seong-dong of the People Power Party and instructing manipulation of self-introduction letters and interview scores to pass the requested candidates.

On the other hand, the Supreme Court upheld the acquittal ruling for lawmaker Kwon, who was indicted for obstruction of business, bribery by a third party, and abuse of authority for pressuring the HR team during the public trainee recruitment process to hire 11 people including an intern secretary from his office, and for receiving requests related to Kangwon Land's issues from former CEO Choi and hiring his own secretary as an experienced employee in return.

The court acknowledged that a Kangwon Land official, an acquaintance of Kwon, delivered the list of requested candidates to the HR staff, but found that there was insufficient evidence beyond reasonable doubt that Kwon directly made hiring requests or conspired with former CEO Choi in the obstruction of business crime.

It also recognized that Kwon's former secretary was given a "customized hiring" at Kangwon Land under Choi's instructions and that Kwon received requests related to Kangwon Land's issues, but concluded that there was insufficient proof that Kwon conspired with Choi in the obstruction of business crime.

The Kangwon Land hiring corruption case experienced various twists and turns during the investigation process.

In February 2016, the Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office, which first investigated the case, found corruption in Kangwon Land's hiring process and sent former CEO Choi and related persons to trial first, but made no progress in investigating lawmakers Kwon and Yeom, who were the main suspects of hiring requests.

Prosecutor Ahn Mi-hyun, who was part of the investigation team at the time, revealed in 2018 that there was external pressure from lawmakers and high-ranking prosecutors during the investigation, and then Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il ordered the formation of a special investigation team on Kangwon Land hiring corruption, appointing Chief Prosecutor Yang Bu-nam as its head.

The special investigation team requested an arrest warrant for lawmaker Kwon, but when the court dismissed the warrant, Kwon was indicted without detention, and the allegations of investigation interference involving Kwon were closed when the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office dismissed the charges.