The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), which has been investigating allegations of preferential hiring of former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung's child, has decided to dismiss the case. It confirmed some procedural issues, including recognition of work experience and degree requirements during the hiring process, but said it found no evidence that anyone ordered or hinted at selecting a particular person.
The CIO said at a media briefing on the 27th that it decided to dismiss charges against the former prosecutor general and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul, who were accused of abuse of power, violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (bribery), offering a bribe, and violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.
The probe into allegations of preferential hiring of the former prosecutor general's child began after the Democratic Party of Korea raised the issue and a civic group filed a complaint with the CIO against the former prosecutor general and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul. The CIO secured related materials by raiding the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the former prosecutor general's home in September last year.
However, the CIO decided to find no charges in the case. It determined there was no evidence that anyone ordered or hinted at selecting a particular person, including the former prosecutor general's child, a person surnamed Shim.
The CIO confirmed that when Shim was hired as a fixed-term researcher at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, the experience totaled a maximum of 22 months excluding overlapping periods, yet the two-year experience requirement was recognized. It said officials may have mistakenly concluded that the total exceeded two years if they simply added the submitted experience.
The CIO confirmed that work experience listed in additional supporting documents submitted after the deadline was reflected in the hiring process, and that the degree requirement was recognized even though Shim was only scheduled to obtain a master's degree as of the announcement date. However, it noted that the application form and career certificate were submitted within the deadline and the additional documents were later supplemented, and that treating a scheduled degree holder as meeting the requirement appeared to reference past hiring cases.
Allegations of preferential hiring for a Ministry of Foreign Affairs government-employed researcher were also dismissed. The CIO confirmed that although there was a need to hire someone with an economics major during the process, the major requirement in the announcement was narrowed to "international politics" without a reasonable reason or discussion, and that practical experience that should have been counted after earning a master's degree included Shim's experience from before earning the master's.
However, it said it was difficult to conclude there was preferential hiring, considering there was no evidence that anyone ordered or hinted at selecting a particular person, and that the pre-master's experience of two other applicants was also recognized.
The CIO also dismissed allegations regarding Shim's scholarship. It confirmed that the scholarship foundation selected not only science and engineering students but also humanities students, and that around 20 humanities students were chosen as scholarship recipients around the time Shim was selected. It determined there was insufficient evidence to find an unlawful selection of scholarship recipients.
The CIO said that during the investigation it identified criminal suspicions, including Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials drafting false official documents. However, due to limits under the CIO Act, it decided to refer the matter for a separate investigation.