[2024 National Audit] Opposition Focuses on 'Kim Daenam Allegations' in Political Affairs Committee Audit... "Considering Strengthening Verification Procedures"

During the National Assembly's National Policy Audit by the Political Affairs Committee targeting the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation, Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO), and Korea Housing Finance Corporation, opposition party lawmakers focused their questions on the appointment process of former Presidential Office administrator Kim Dae-nam as a full-time auditor at SGI Seoul Guarantee. Yoo Jae-hoon, president of KDIC, stated, "We will review whether it is necessary to strengthen the verification procedures for full-time auditors."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 14th, at the National Assembly Political Affairs Committee audit held in Busan, Kim Hyun-jung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "Former administrator Kim is from a construction company background and has no expertise in the financial sector," adding, "He himself chose the SGI Seoul Guarantee auditor position, which he refers to as 'mangottaeng' (a Korean slang meaning 'a guaranteed win') in the recorded transcript. If this suspicion is true, it can be seen as a state power meddling in financial personnel appointments, amounting to state corruption."

On the same day, the Political Affairs Committee also summoned a KDIC official who had attended the SGI Seoul Guarantee Executive Candidate Recommendation Committee as a member when former administrator Kim was recommended as a full-time auditor to examine the circumstances. Lee Jung-moon, a Democratic Party lawmaker, asked the official, "He didn't just fall from the sky, right?" and "The minutes show that he directly recommended the candidate and introduced his background. Was recommending former administrator Kim an internal decision within KDIC, or was it a recommendation from the Presidential Office or the Financial Services Commission?"

The official responded, "As a matter of custom, KDIC-originating recommendation committee members have made proposals for executive candidate recommendations, so it was done that way procedurally," adding, "There was no internal consensus within KDIC, nor was there an external recommendation from the Presidential Office or others. The recommendation committee members gathered to discuss and decide on the candidate."

President Yoo also responded regarding the full-time auditor recommendation, "Important matters of the shareholders' meeting are handled by the board of directors' resolution, and matters of the recommendation committee are handled by the department head's resolution," and when asked about the appropriateness of former administrator Kim, who has a career far from the financial sector, serving as a full-time auditor, he said, "I think the recommendation committee sufficiently considered his experience in the construction industry during the discussion process."

As no clear explanation emerged, related attacks continued. Cho Seung-rae, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said, "There are five members in the recommendation committee. If it wasn't himself, one of the other four must have proposed (former administrator Kim)," and added, "Especially since the official in question has been in charge of personnel management and recommendations since March, and this was the first and last personnel recommendation case, how can he not remember?"

The KDIC official replied, "I don't remember," and "I need to check who the SGI Seoul Guarantee employee who submitted the personnel verification documents was." As similar questions and answers continued, opposition lawmakers lamented, "This happened in July, not long ago, so why are there so many things you don't remember?"

Kim Yong-man, a Democratic Party lawmaker, also questioned, "Under the Governance Act, active qualifications for financial company executives include expertise, job fairness, ethics, and diligence. Does former administrator Kim meet these criteria?" President Yoo responded, "The person in question (former administrator Kim) has resigned from the full-time auditor position," and added, "As a result, I think the defect has been remedied."