Ex-Chief of Staff Noh Young-min, Former Land Minister Kim Hyun-mi Acquitted of Job Favoritism Allegations as Prosecution Forgoes Appeal

The prosecution has decided not to appeal the first-instance acquittals of former Presidential Chief of Staff Noh Young-min and former Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mi, who were indicted on charges of pressuring a company to hire Lee Jeong-geun, former deputy secretary-general of the Democratic Party.

The prosecution did not submit an appeal to the Seoul Central District Court by yesterday (August 20), which was the appeal deadline.

Explaining the decision not to appeal, the prosecution stated, "We respected the court's ruling that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport had traditionally received recommendations for full-time advisory positions in accordance with practice, and that there was insufficient evidence to prove an awareness of illegality."

As a result, the acquittals of former Chief of Staff Noh and former Minister Kim have been finalized.

Kwon, a former presidential personnel secretary, and Jeon, a former head of operations and support at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, who stood trial alongside them, also had their acquittals finalized.

Noh and the others were indicted in January of last year on charges of using the ministry's oversight and regulatory authority to exert undue pressure to secure a political figure, including former Deputy Secretary-General Lee, a position at a private company offering executive-level compensation.

The prosecution had maintained that Noh, Kim, and Kwon conspired to obstruct the business operations of Korea Intermodal Logistics by having Lee appointed as a full-time advisor in August 2020.

On August 13, Judge Im Hye-won of the 19th Criminal Division at the Seoul Central District Court acquitted Noh, Kim, and the others, who had been indicted on obstruction of business charges.

The court based its acquittal on grounds including that Korea Intermodal Logistics, identified by the prosecution as the victim company, had traditionally received recommendations for full-time advisors from the ministry and hired them, and that management had not formally opposed the recommendations.

Following his acquittal, former Chief of Staff Noh characterized the prosecution's investigation as "political retaliation" and criticized it, stating, "This is something that must definitely be brought to light in the future."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.