Manipulated Evaluation Forms to Change Agency Rankings
Forgery and Disposal of Original Documents... Suspended Prison Sentence
Court: "No Collusion Recognized as There Was No Exchange of Favors"
A former employee of the Korea Small and Medium Venture Business Distribution Center (KSMVDC), who was brought to trial on charges of forging evaluation forms related to the selection of public project implementing agencies, has received a suspended prison sentence in the first trial.
According to government and legal sources on July 4, the Seoul Southern District Court recently sentenced Mr. A, who worked as a team leader at KSMVDC, an agency under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, to one year in prison with a two-year suspension, and ordered him to complete 80 hours of community service for charges including private document forgery and use of forged private documents.
Mr. A was indicted on charges of arbitrarily altering evaluation results during the 2023 selection process for agencies to support entry into overseas online marketplaces. At the time, Mr. A is suspected of lowering the score of Company B, which originally ranked second in the evaluation forms submitted by the evaluators, and raising the score of Company C, which was in third place, thereby reversing the rankings of the two agencies. It was found that he submitted the forged evaluation forms, signed arbitrarily in the names of the evaluators, to other departments as official documents, and then disposed of the original evaluation forms.
The project had a total budget of 508 million won and was operated by selecting two implementing agencies, each of which received 250 million won in support. The selected agencies assist small business owners in entering overseas online marketplaces through entry planning, marketing, and other activities. At the time, more than 160 small business owners applied for the project.
It was determined that Mr. A and Company C, which was ultimately selected, first became acquainted about three weeks before the final selection through an introduction. KSMVDC (then called the Small and Medium Business Distribution Center) dismissed Mr. A immediately after the incident and notified the investigative authorities of the matter.
During the audit, Mr. A reportedly stated, "Company B is a typical vendor-type business focused on commissioned work with only five employees, so I judged its suitability for the project to be low and adjusted the evaluation scores at my own discretion." No collusion or exchange of favors between the parties was found during the investigation.
The court pointed out, "The defendant bears significant culpability for manipulating evaluation forms to alter the results regarding which agency would be selected for the public project." However, the court suspended the execution of the sentence, taking into account that Mr. A did not gain any personal benefit and that the affected company requested leniency.
Established in 1995, KSMVDC carries out projects supporting market expansion and online distribution for small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners. Last year, it changed its name from the Small and Medium Business Distribution Center to its current name, and it is responsible for various government-commissioned projects, including operating the 'Haengbokhan Department Store,' an offline store exclusively for SMEs.
In the public institution integrity survey conducted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, KSMVDC received the lowest grade, Grade 5, in 2021, but improved to Grade 4 in 2022 and Grade 3 in 2023.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
