Supreme Court: "No Misunderstanding of the Law"
Transition to Acting Governor System by Deputy Governor
Park Woorang, the governor of Sinan County in South Jeolla Province, has ultimately lost his position after being prosecuted for unfairly intervening in the civil servant recruitment process. With the Supreme Court finalizing his suspended prison sentence, Sinan County will now be managed under the acting governor system by the deputy governor.
The Supreme Court's First Division (presiding justice Noh Taeak) on the 27th dismissed both the prosecution's and the defendant's appeals in the final trial of Park, who was indicted on charges of abuse of power and damaging official documents, thereby upholding the original verdict. As a result, Park has lost his position as the head of the local government.
Park was indicted for pressuring interview panel members to select nine candidates who had received external solicitations during the civil servant recruitment process from June 2019 to February 2020. Some of these individuals were hired as contract-based civil servants or temporary workers. During the investigation, it was also revealed that Park had torn and damaged the resumes of certain candidates while the authorities were conducting a search of his office.
The court of first instance sentenced Park to one year in prison, while the appellate court reduced the sentence to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. The appellate court pointed out that his actions "undermined public trust in the fairness of the recruitment process," but also considered the absence of bribery and his contributions to regional development when determining the sentence.
The Supreme Court also stated, "The original verdict contains no misunderstanding of the law or omission in judgment," and rejected Park's appeal. Of the four former and current public officials prosecuted alongside Park, three received fines, and one was acquitted.
Under current law, elected public officials lose their positions if they are sentenced to imprisonment or higher for criminal offenses, except for violations of the Public Official Election Act or the Political Funds Act. As a result, Sinan County will be operated under the acting deputy governor system.
The issue now is whether a by-election for the governor will be held. The schedule for this year's first half by-elections has already been set, and considering that the next nationwide local elections will be held in June next year, it is possible that no separate by-election will be held in the second half of this year.
According to Article 201 of the Public Official Election Act, if the remaining term is less than one year from the date the reason for the by-election is confirmed, an election may not be held. Whether a by-election for the Sinan County governor will be held will be determined by the election commission after gathering opinions from relevant agencies and the local community. However, for now, it appears likely that the deputy governor system will continue until June next year.
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