"Some Union Executives Received Money to Form Election Funds"

The details of the Kia Motors’ jobs-for-money scandal are being unearthed. Labor union executives of Kia Motors’ Gwangju plant systematically sold jobs to job seekers and brokers, and received hundred millions of won in return. When the prosecutors complete the restoration process of USB flash memory drives that contain the names of recommenders, the prosecutors will soon begin summoning the recommenders outside of the company.

The Gwangju district prosecutors’ office arrested six people, including four union executives, who received bribes in the recruitment process for production line workers, and a broker identified as Lee, on Sunday.

The prosecutors also requested arrest warrants for one delegate of the union and a former member of the union-management cooperation team on Sunday.

With that, the number of people arrested in this case jumped to nine, including the union leader of the Gwangju plant, Jung Byung-yeon, former head of human resources department, identified as “Na,” and a broker, "Park.”

Union delegates--35-year-old Cho and 36-year-old Shin--took this case to another level in the form of organized crime, in order to prepare election funds for the upcoming election for the 18th labor union leader position in September.

The connection between the labor union and brokers was also revealed. The arrested broker, Lee, received 210 million won from eight job seekers, and handed 160 million won to a labor union delegate.

The prosecution said that some 20 production workers and union executives surrendered themselves, so an investigation on them is now in process.

An official at the prosecutors’ office said that the prosecutors are reviewing a list that contains the names of recommenders, and are in the process of finding out who recommended many people.

Seung-Ho Jung Kwon Kim shjung@donga.com goqud@donga.com