‘Guilty in first trial, not guilty in second trial’ Kim Seok-jun, Busan Superintendent of Education, sentenced by Supreme Court on the 26th
Quick Look
- The Supreme Court's appeal hearing on Busan Superintendent Kim Seok-jun, who was indicted on charges of abusing his authority during the special recruitment of dismissed teachers from the National Teachers and Education Workers Union, will be held at 10:15 a.m. on the 26th.
- The first trial declared him guilty, the second trial declared him not guilty, and the prosecution appealed due to a misunderstanding of the law.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
From February 2018 to January 2019, Busan Superintendent of Education Kim Seok-jun was put on trial on charges of pre-designating four teachers dismissed from the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union Unification School as special candidates for recruitment and then ordering human resources officials at the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education to hire them under the guise of an open competitive process. The first trial sentenced him to 8 months in prison, 2 years of probation, and loss of position, but the second trial declared him not guilty, saying there was no procedural violation and it did not amount to abuse of power.
The Supreme Court's ruling on Busan Superintendent Kim Seok-jun, who was indicted on charges of abusing his authority during the special recruitment of dismissed teachers by the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) and was found guilty in the first trial and not guilty in the second trial, will be announced on the 26th.
According to the legal community on the 12th, the first division of the Supreme Court will hold an appeal hearing for Superintendent Kim, who was indicted on charges of abuse of power and interference with the exercise of rights, at 10:15 a.m. on the 26th in Court No. 2.
From February 2018 to January 2019, Superintendent Kim was handed over to trial on charges of pre-designating four dismissed teachers from the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union's Unification School as special candidates for recruitment and then directing human resources officials at the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education to hire them under the guise of an open competitive process.
The first trial court found Superintendent Kim guilty of all charges and sentenced him to eight months in prison, equivalent to loss of position, and two years of probation.
However, the Busan District Court Criminal Appeal Division 4-3, which was in charge of the second trial, ruled that there was no procedural illegality in the special recruitment process and that Superintendent Kim's actions did not amount to abuse of power, so it overturned the lower court and declared him not guilty.
Accordingly, the prosecution appealed on August 27, claiming that there was a misunderstanding of the law in the appellate court's ruling.
The Supreme Court received the case on September 4 and has been reviewing the legal principles of the reasons for the appeal.
Superintendent Kim, who was indicted in December 2023, will receive the Supreme Court's final judgment three years later.
Superintendent Kim has consistently denied the charges during the trial.
Open Questions
- Which decision will the Supreme Court support between the first and second trials?
- The specific impact of the Supreme Court ruling on Superintendent Kim’s retention of the position of Superintendent of Education
