Lee Jeong-hoon, Gangdong-gu Mayor, Public Apology Over Employee's '11.5 Billion Won Embezzlement'

Gangdong-gu Office Employee Detained on the Afternoon of the 26th Over Evidence Tampering Concerns

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Lee Jeong-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, apologized on the 26th regarding the embezzlement case involving a district office employee and promised to thoroughly investigate the facts.

On the same day, Mayor Lee issued a statement concerning the embezzlement of funds (11.5 billion KRW) exploiting loopholes in the accounting system and pledged a thorough investigation.

This case involves suspicions that an employee A of Gangdong-gu Office embezzled funds related to the waste treatment facility installation cost charge (fund) by exploiting weaknesses in the accounting system, leading to a police complaint.

The current employee B in charge of the work noticed that the settlement for the waste treatment facility installation cost charge (fund) had not been processed while reviewing the fund’s past income and expenditure, reported the matter to the district audit officer, revealing signs of embezzlement.

Gangdong-gu confirmed the embezzlement on the 22nd, filed a complaint with Gangdong Police Station on the 23rd, and immediately suspended the employee involved.

The waste treatment facility (Resource Circulation Center) construction project is being promoted to modernize and underground the existing above-ground waste treatment facility included in the Godeok-Gangil public housing project district, establishing an eco-friendly resource circulation center to secure efficiency and safety in waste treatment.

The construction funding for the waste treatment facility (Resource Circulation Center) is being supported by national, city, district funds, and SH Corporation contributions. Employee A, suspected of embezzling the fund, was responsible for fund-related tasks in the department and is accused of diverting the “waste treatment facility installation cost charge” received from SH Corporation for the Resource Circulation Center into a personal bank account during the levy and collection process.

Upon learning of the embezzlement on the 22nd, Gangdong-gu confirmed the facts with employee A, immediately filed a complaint with Gangdong Police Station on the 23rd under the “Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes,” and suspended A from duty.

On the same day, a “Special Investigation Team on Public Service Corruption” composed of 1 officer in charge, 2 bureaus, and a total of 6 departments within the district office was formed to analyze the cause internally. They are conducting a special audit on the entire budget and accounting, including whether there are any collaborators or accomplices besides the person involved, all managed accounts, and fund operation status.

Currently, the police investigation is underway, and the district office stated it will actively cooperate with the police investigation and take all civil and criminal measures to minimize the damage.

They also added that they will cooperate with Seoul City to thoroughly identify the cause and do their best to prepare measures to prevent recurrence.

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Statement

Regarding the Embezzlement of Funds Exploiting Loopholes in the Accounting System

Hello, I am Lee Jeong-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu. First, I sincerely apologize for addressing you under such unfortunate circumstances.

Currently, our district is promoting a project to modernize and underground the existing above-ground waste treatment facility within the Godeok-Gangil public housing project district to build an eco-friendly Resource Circulation Center. This project is funded by national, city, district funds, and SH Corporation. According to Article 6 of the “Act on Promotion of Installation of Waste Treatment Facilities and Support for Surrounding Areas,” the “Waste Treatment Facility Installation Fund” is operated to use the charge collected from SH Corporation only for the designated purposes.

On January 22, we identified suspicious circumstances where 7,690,582,000 KRW of the charge collected from SH Corporation was not confirmed deposited and began an investigation.

1. On January 23, 2022, we immediately filed a complaint with Gangdong Police Station regarding the embezzlement suspicion and suspended the employee involved.

2. On the same day, we formed a “Special Investigation Team on Public Service Corruption” composed of 1 officer in charge, 2 bureaus, and a total of 6 departments within the district office to analyze the cause internally. We are conducting a special audit on the entire budget and accounting, including whether there are any collaborators or accomplices besides the person involved, all managed accounts, and fund operation status.

3. Currently, the police investigation is underway, and we will actively cooperate with the police investigation, take all civil and criminal measures, and strive to minimize the damage.

4. Depending on the investigation results, we will take stricter measures than ever before and do our best to prepare measures to prevent similar cases.

I sincerely apologize for disappointing the residents due to this incident and will ensure that such cases never happen again.

January 26, 2022

Lee Jeong-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu