Prosecution Specifies in Indictment
For Lee Jeong-geun: "Concurrent Service as Regional Chairman Possible"
The prosecution investigating allegations of employment solicitation involving Lee Jeong-geun, former Deputy Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Korea, revealed circumstances indicating that former Presidential Chief of Staff Noh Young-min instructed the personnel secretary during the Moon Jae-in administration to find a "suitable position" for Lee Jeong, and despite opposition from the company, enforced his employment.
On the 20th, the indictment for obstruction of business against four individuals?former Chief of Staff Noh, former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi, former personnel secretary Kwon, and former head of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Operations Support Division Jeon?submitted by the Ministry of Justice to Park Jun-tae of the People Power Party, included this information.
According to the indictment, around April 2020, former Chief of Staff Noh received a personnel request from Lee to be appointed as Consul General to China or Japan or as President of the Korean Educational Broadcasting System (EBS). The following month, Noh instructed former personnel secretary Kwon to "find a suitable position for Lee Jeong-geun."
Subsequently, Kwon relayed the instruction to an administrative officer in the personnel secretary’s office, who then asked personnel officers in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Operations Support Division to "find a position suitable for a political appointee." In response, the personnel officers in the Operations Support Division discovered the position of full-time advisor at Korea Integrated Logistics, which they had been managing as a reemployment position for retiring ministry officials, and reported to former Minister Kim, "The Blue House requested a position for a political appointee. We will inform you of the full-time advisor position at Korea Integrated Logistics."
Former Minister Kim approved this, and after receiving the report, Kwon obtained approval from former Chief of Staff Noh to employ Lee at Korea Integrated Logistics as a full-time advisor. Kwon then instructed the personnel officer at Korea Integrated Logistics through the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to "hire Lee Jeong-geun as the successor full-time advisor," according to the investigation.
However, the company opposed the employment because Lee had no experience in logistics and was simultaneously applying for a Democratic Party regional chairman position at the time, requesting to hold both positions concurrently.
The prosecution determined that the company’s opposition to concurrent employment was conveyed to former Chief of Staff Noh and Kwon through Lee between June 23 and 25, 2020.
Notably, on July 3, 2020, former Chief of Staff Noh received a text message from Executive Director A of Korea Integrated Logistics via Lee, which stated that "one cannot serve as a full-time advisor while holding a political position such as regional chairman."
The prosecution concluded that despite knowing Lee had been appointed as the Democratic Party’s regional chairman for Seocho-gap, Seoul, former Chief of Staff Noh enforced the employment request by assuring Lee that holding both the regional chairman and full-time advisor positions concurrently was possible.
Korea Integrated Logistics, fearing disadvantages such as losing management and supervision by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport over its integrated logistics terminal business if it did not comply, ultimately employed Lee as a full-time advisor from August 2020 to July 2021, providing an annual salary of approximately 135.6 million KRW and a company vehicle with a lease fee totaling about 14.1 million KRW.
Additionally, the prosecution judged that former Minister Kim conspired with former Operations Support Division head Jeon to similarly exert influence in the employment process of Kim, a political figure who had been a full-time advisor at Korea Integrated Logistics before Lee. In May 2018, former Minister Kim instructed Jeon to "ensure Kim is employed as a full-time advisor at Korea Integrated Logistics," and Jeon conveyed this request to the company’s personnel officer through relevant departments of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, according to the prosecution.
Despite repeated opposition from the company, Kim was ultimately employed as a full-time advisor after being unilaterally excluded from meetings of the Ministry’s Logistics Facility Information Division and suffering other disadvantages. Executive Director A, who was the full-time advisor in May 2018, was suddenly told to "resign" and sent a protest message to former Minister Kim and Jeon. However, Jeon reportedly pressured the company’s representative through the Ministry’s Logistics Policy Officer to hire Kim.
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