[Asia Economy Reporter Myung-hwan Lee] Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, who was accused of making false statements related to the 'secretary's unfair hiring' raised at a debate held ahead of the June 1 local elections, has been cleared of charges by the prosecution following the police.
The Public Investigation Division of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Jeong Won-du) judged on the 29th that the charges against Governor Kim, who was accused of violating the Public Official Election Act (false statement disclosure), were not substantiated and returned the case files to the police.
The university student organization, New National University Student Representatives Council (Sinjeondae-hyeop), accused Kim of publicly disclosing false information for the purpose of election victory during a TV debate hosted by the Gyeonggi Province Election Broadcasting Debate Committee and broadcast by three major networks on May 23. In this debate, then-independent candidate Kang Yong-seok raised suspicions that Kim, when moving from Ajou University president to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, was involved in hiring Mr. A, who was his secretary during his presidency, to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
In response to such questions, Kim denied the allegations outright, stating, "That employee fully met the qualification requirements, so the hiring was legitimate, and I was absolutely not involved in the hiring process."
Earlier, the police decided not to prosecute, stating that Mr. A was hired through a fair procedure and that Governor Kim did not exert any influence during this process.
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