Gangjin County Fisheries Cooperative, Internal Employee Suspected of Embezzling Labor Costs... Request for Central Association Audit

Kim Wi-pan's Crane Operation Labor Costs... Investigation Requested from Police as Well

The Gangjin County Fisheries Cooperative in Jeonnam confirmed allegations of embezzlement of labor costs worth approximately 70 million won by an internal employee and requested an audit from the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives.

According to Gangjin County Fisheries Cooperative on the 17th, a tip-off raised suspicions that the labor costs for crane operation during Kim's sales were not properly paid and were deposited into Manager A's personal bank account.

A view of Gangjin County Fisheries Cooperative

Accordingly, the cooperative conducted a special audit from the 4th to the 14th of last month. The audit revealed that a fee of 1,000 won per 120 kg of crane operation labor cost during Kim's sales had been charged, amounting to about 13 million won per season, but the amount was recorded as income in Manager A's personal bank account.

This amount is estimated to have reached approximately 70 million won from 2019 to this year. The cooperative requested Manager A to submit the bankbook showing the deposits, but it is reported that he refused.

Furthermore, upon reviewing the expenditure details explained by Manager A, it was judged that the dates were not specified and the explanations were fabricated.

Moreover, during the audit process, some fishermen protested, claiming it was a targeted audit, stating that it was their money and demanding the return of any remaining funds, sending certified letters to that effect.

Regarding these allegations, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives plans to conduct an audit of the Gangjin County Fisheries Cooperative from the 7th to the 10th of next month.

A representative of the Gangjin County Fisheries Cooperative stated, “Since the embezzlement allegations regarding labor costs have not been sufficiently clarified, we reluctantly requested an audit by the National Federation. Separately, we also plan to request a police investigation into the embezzlement of public funds.”