I made an internal payment, but I was sued... Energy company employee acquitted of bid corruption charges

An employee who was accused of bidding corruption and breach of trust by the company he worked for was cleared of the charges.

According to the legal community on the 30th, the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office decided not to indict Mr. A, a former energy company employee, who was sent on charges of breach of trust and breach of trust on the 27th of last month.

Mr. A, who worked at a global energy company, was accused of causing damage to the company by allocating excessive quantities to logistics company B, which offered a higher quote than others, for one year from October 2023. He was also accused of going on a trip with the CEO of Company B and making him pay for travel expenses worth millions of won along with an implicit favor.

However, Mr. A denied all charges. Because the company's mistake caused a large amount of damage to company B, the company allocated the quantity to company B to prevent the company from having to pay compensation. In addition, they claimed that they did not arbitrarily select a company and allocate the quantity because the quantity allocation was approved after completing a review with the internal factory manager and the head office. Regarding payment of travel expenses, he explained, “I prepared the travel expenses myself, and I also returned all expenses partially supported by the CEO of Company B by check.”

The prosecution determined that Mr. A could not be considered to have committed the crime alone or to have taken unfair financial advantage. Considering the fact that, due to the company's system, Mr. A cannot freely select a logistics company and allocate quantities, and that the company claimed that damage was caused by Mr. A but was unable to estimate the amount, it was determined that there was no evidence to establish a charge of breach of trust. Regarding the payment of travel expenses, the ratio of the volume allocated to Company B around the time of Mr. A's trip remained at a similar level as before, so it was determined that he did not receive an unfair request and receive preferential treatment.

Attorney Kim Myeong-cheol of Daeryun Law Firm, who defended Mr. A, said, “We were able to receive an acquittal by demonstrating that the lowest price quote cannot be an unconditional criterion for selecting a logistics company and by closely analyzing the internal payment system of a large company to prove that Mr. A’s actions were reasonable decisions.”

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I made an internal payment, but was sued... Energy company employee acquitted of bid corruption charges
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