Kim Se-hwan, former Secretary-General of the Central Election Commission, appeared in court but did not respond to questions from the press at the preparatory hearing.
Kim Se-hwan (61), the former Secretary-General of the Central Election Commission, charged with arranging for his son to be hired as an employee of the Election Commission and providing various favorable treatments, denied the charges in court.
During the first preparatory hearing held by Incheon District Court’s Criminal Division 12 on the 21st, his lawyer stated, “We deny the charges.”
Kim’s defense argued, “Only about 4-5 public officials had direct contact through meetings or phone calls with the defendant,” and claimed that the remaining allegations involve public officials with whom he had no direct involvement.
Furthermore, they stated, “Regarding the alleged acts such as calling and saying, ‘Please take care of him,’ there were no such occurrences,” and they would provide detailed opinions on evidence at the next hearing.
Although it was a preparatory hearing and not a formal trial date, Kim attended the session and observed the procedures. He did not answer any questions from the press after the hearing.
Previously, Kim was charged without detention for allegedly exerting influence in November-December 2019 to have his son hired as an 8th-grade civil servant under the Ganghwa County Election Commission in Incheon. He also faced allegations of illegally providing a government residence to his son, who was transferred to the Incheon City Election Commission within a year.
Kim’s son moved to the Election Commission through competitive recruitment for experienced civil servants after working at the Ganghwa County Office.
At the time, Kim was the Deputy Secretary-General (vice-minister level) of the Central Election Commission. It was investigated that he selected a close acquaintance as an interview committee member and informed them of his son’s application prior to the interview.