"235 Billion Won of Tax Money Squandered" Health and Medical Workers' Union Files National Audit Request for Gwangju and Naju Nursing Homes

"235 Billion Won Tax Support for Nursing Home, No Audit Conducted"
Gwangju Citizens Submit Petition and National Audit Request
Gwangju City Calls It "Absurd" and Claims "Audit Is Underway"

The Gwangju-Jeonnam Headquarters of the National Health and Medical Workers' Union announced on the 11th that "Gwangju City has provided approximately 23.55 billion KRW in national and city funds to two nursing homes over the past five years but has not conducted a single financial audit," and added, "The union has submitted a citizen audit request to the Board of Audit and Inspection with signatures from 1,058 Gwangju citizens to uncover the truth." They also stated, "Neither Gwangju City, the Dong-gu Office of Gwangju where the corporation is located, nor Naju City in Jeonnam have conducted financial audits or supervision," and "While these three institutions shift responsibility to each other, various suspicions are rampant."

The citizen audit request system allows citizens to directly request an audit from the Board of Audit and Inspection when public institutions' administrative affairs are suspected of violating laws or engaging in corrupt acts, significantly harming public interest. This system has been in place since 2002.

In response to the union's claims, Gwangju City stated that they are "absurd." A Gwangju city official said, "Besides the nursing homes mentioned by the union, there are two more nursing homes in Gwangju," and "We provide similar support to all of them." They also claimed that 70% of the support budget comes from national funds and that annual financial audits and supervision are conducted and reported to the government.