Former Presidential Aide, Minister Acquitted in Job Placement Bribery Case

Former presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min and ex-Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi have been acquitted of charges related to alleged job placement requests. The Seoul Central District Court ruled on August 13th that there was insufficient evidence to prove they exerted undue influence or pressure on a private company to hire a former official from the Democratic Party.

The court stated that the prosecution failed to demonstrate that Noh and Kim used their authority to interfere with the hiring process at Korea Complex Logistics. The prosecution had accused them of pressuring the company, which is supervised by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, to hire Lee Jung-geun in August 2020.

Prosecutors alleged that Noh and Kim also pressured the company to appoint another political figure, Kim Mo, as a standing advisor in July 2018. According to the prosecution, Korea Complex Logistics initially opposed hiring these individuals due to a lack of professional qualifications. However, the company eventually complied with the requests, reportedly fearing disadvantages in its operations, which are overseen by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Kim Mo allegedly received an annual salary of approximately 135.6 million won and a company car valued at 33 million won per year from July 2018 to June 2020. Lee Jung-geun reportedly received a similar salary and a company car worth about 14 million won from August 2020 to July 2021.