Ex-Woori Bank CEO sentenced to 1.5 years over recruitment scandal
Lee Kwang-goo, former Woori Bank chief, presents himself at the Seoul Northern District Court, Seoul, Thursday, for the verdict in his trial over illicit recruitments. / Yonhap
By Lee Suh-yoon
A Seoul court sentenced Lee Kwang-goo, former CEO of Woori Bank, to 18 months in jail for his involvement in a massive hiring scandal, Thursday.
The Seoul Northern District Court found him guilty of helping 37 job applicants ― children of the bank's VIP customers and high-ranking government officials ― get a free pass through one or more stages in the bank's recruitment process from 2015 to 2017, even though their scores or resumes did not meet required standards.
“Though the head of the bank has the right to step into the recruitment process, it should not be to the degree that it breaks the law or harms the principles of fairness,” Presiding Judge Lee Jae-hee said.
“The unfairness in the recruitment gave other applicants and jobseekers a sense of discouragement and betrayal, and damaged public trust in the bank and society.”
Right after the verdict was read out, Lee was taken to a detention center due to him being a flight risk.
Lee stepped down in November 2017 after the hiring scandal emerged during a National Assembly audit. He and 37 other senior officials at Woori and the nation's other top banks were indicted in June for the hiring irregularities.