Former Environment Minister Kim Eun-kyung is heading to the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul to receive a first trial sentence related to the suspicion of a blacklist from the Ministry of Environment. Newsis
Former Environment Minister Kim Eun-kyung (65), who was handed over to trial for improperly intervening in the process of changing executives of public institutions under the Ministry of Environment, was sentenced to imprisonment in the first trial and was arrested in court. It has been about two years since the prosecution conducted a major investigation targeting personnel who served as early ministers of the Moon Jae-in administration and officials from the Blue House and handed them over to trial. In order to select personnel recommended by former Minister Kim and others by the Blue House and the Ministry of Environment, the court made a strict judgment on the act of dropping applicants who were not on my side and providing preferential treatment to their side.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Agreement Department 25-1 (Director Sun-hee Kim) sentenced former Minister Kim to two years of imprisonment on charges of obstructing the exercise of ex officio abuse rights and obstructing business. Shin Mi-sook, 54, who was handed over to the trial on the same charges, was sentenced to three years of probation in one year and June in prison. The court arrested former Minister Kim, who had been tried in a state of imprisonment, saying, “There is a fear of destroying the evidence because it has denied the allegations and stated differently about obvious facts.”
The Judicial Office determined that the act of ex-Minister Kim’s resignation from 12 public agency executives who have remained in office by ordering employees of public institutions under the Ministry of Environment constituted a crime of ex officio abuse. It is believed that former Minister Kim and others have done this in order to’change the water’ of the executives elected by the former regime.
After the executives submitted massive resignations, the Blue House and the Ministry of Environment were also convicted of giving preferential treatment to fill vacancy with nominees who were pre-checked. Former secretary Kim and former secretary Shin mobilized public officials from the Ministry of Environment, members of the executive recommendation committee of public institutions, to give high marks to the nominees during the document and interview screening process.
Former Environment Minister Kim Eun-gyeong and former Blue House Balance Personnel Secretary Shin Mi-sook, who were handed over to the trial due to the suspicion of a’blacklist by the Ministry of Environment’, are leaving the government building after being sentenced to probation in the first trial held at the Seoul Central District Court on the 9th. Newsis
It was also guilty of interfering with the work of executive recommendation committees in order to place Mr. Park, recommended by the Blue House, as a standing auditor at the Korea Environment Corporation. Former secretary Kim and former secretary Shin induced all 7 successful applicants to be eliminated from the interview because Park was eliminated even though the Ministry of Environment executive who participated in the document review committee gave the highest score. An executive from the Ministry of Environment was called to the Blue House and had to apologize for the dropout of Park, the Blue House recommendation, and even wrote a reflection. Former Minister Kim was also convicted of receiving his resignation, saying,’I will conduct a target audit,’ when Mr. Kim Mo, a permanent auditor of the Korea Environment Corporation appointed by the former regime, refused to submit his resignation.
The judge severely rebuked former Minister Kim, explaining the reasons for the sentence that day. The court pointed out that “not only did it incur tangible and intangible economic losses to applicants for public institutions, but also caused severe deprivation, and caused deep distrust in the recruitment process of public institutions to applicants and citizens.” Former Minister Kim’s defense counsel said that it was “an unexpected decision,” and that “there is a lot of regret about the facts and the application of the law.” Former Minister Kim’s side immediately filed an appeal on the day of the sentence.
The “Ministry of Environment Blacklist” case was revealed to the outside by the exposure of former Blue House Special Inspectorate investigator Kim Tae-woo at the end of 2018. At the time of the investigation, the prosecution drew attention from the politics and legal circles as they demanded an arrest warrant against the former government minister Moon Jae-in. The prosecution officers of the Seoul East District Prosecutors’ Office, who investigated former Minister Kim and former secretary Shin, took off their clothes when they were deported from the personnel conducted immediately after the investigation.
‘Ministry of Environment blacklist’ case, from investigation to first trial ruling. Graphic = Reporter Park Gu-won
Hyunjoo Lee reporter [email protected]
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