'Virtual Assets, Stocks, Gambling' IBK Employees Embezzle 4.6 Billion Won Over 5 Years

Unrecovered Amount 1.5 Billion KRW... Assemblyman Kang Myung-gu: "Serious Internal Discipline Laxity"
Still No Provision for 'Disciplinary Surcharge'
"Need to Restore Trust as a National Policy Bank"

Raemian One Bailey in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul is truly the center of the super-rich. Securities firms and banks are concentrated in the One Bailey shopping area. The photo shows Industrial Bank of Korea. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

It has been revealed that the embezzlement damage caused by employees of the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) over the past five years has exceeded 4.6 billion KRW.

According to data submitted by IBK to Kang Myung-gu, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, a total of 18 embezzlement cases occurred at IBK from 2019 to last year, with damages amounting to 4.604 billion KRW.

The reasons for embezzlement included virtual asset investments, stock investments, and gambling funds. In 2019, Deputy Manager A was dismissed after embezzling 2.405 billion KRW of customer deposits for virtual asset trading purposes. This was the largest amount in a single case. There was also a case where 529 million KRW of customer loan funds were misappropriated to finance stock investments. Additionally, Deputy Manager B embezzled 153 million KRW of petty cash to use as gambling funds.

Recovery performance was poor. The unrecovered amount was 1.512 billion KRW, which accounted for one-third of the total embezzled amount. No disciplinary surcharge was imposed. In particular, the disciplinary surcharge is an additional measure that can impose a fine up to five times on employees disciplined for embezzlement, but IBK has not established related regulations.

Since 2020, as a policy bank, IBK is required to establish disciplinary surcharge regulations in accordance with the Ministry of Economy and Finance's guidelines on the management of public enterprises and quasi-governmental institutions, but IBK has not complied with this for four years. In response, IBK explained, "This is an issue that requires labor-management agreement, and we will review the introduction through sufficient discussions in the future."

Assemblyman Kang Myung-gu said, "As a policy bank, IBK should strengthen internal controls and introduce a disciplinary surcharge system to eradicate embezzlement corruption and restore public trust."