[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Allegations have surfaced that an executive of the Korea Foodservice Industry Association (hereinafter the Association) accepted bribes in exchange for promoting employees, prompting the police to launch an investigation.
According to the police on the 25th, the Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has filed charges against executive A of the Association and others since September last year for breach of trust and other offenses, and is currently investigating.
Executive A and others are suspected of accepting bribes ranging from 1 million to 15 million KRW in exchange for employee promotions. They are also accused of pocketing several million won under the pretext of personnel transfers from regional branches to the Association headquarters.
The Association is required to conduct personnel matters according to the articles of association approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. However, it is known that in practice, a small number of executives exercised personnel authority arbitrarily.
Meanwhile, the police are also investigating executives of the Association suspected of recruiting Chinese nationals and charging brokerage fees for placing them in domestic restaurants.
Established in 1955, the Korea Foodservice Industry Association is the largest private professional organization in Korea, with 420,000 member businesses.
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