Forged Official Document Sent to Bicycle Company
City Requests Police Investigation and Takes All-Out Measures to Prevent Recurrence
Naju City in South Jeolla Province has launched a swift response to prevent the spread of citizen damage following a recent case involving forged official documents by an individual impersonating a city official. The city is working to determine the details of the incident and is pursuing legal actions, including requesting an investigation. At the same time, it is making every effort to prevent recurrence by providing internal guidance to civil servants and sharing information with relevant organizations.
On June 25, the city confirmed that an unidentified individual impersonated a Naju City Hall official and ordered five bicycles (worth approximately 1.3 million won) from a bicycle company located in Seongbuk-dong, sending an official document stamped with the 'Naju Mayor's seal' via text message.
The incident came to light on July 2, when the company in question contacted the city hall call center after the recipient failed to appear to collect the bicycles by the scheduled date.
The responsible department immediately verified the authenticity of the document and found that the forged document was inappropriate in format, was made to appear as if it had been drafted by a civil servant currently on leave, and contained multiple inconsistencies, such as mismatched approval lines and document numbers.
The city officially confirmed that the document in question was never actually produced and that the childcare center support project mentioned in the document is not currently being pursued.
Fortunately, no financial damage occurred. However, the city considers this incident a serious breach of administrative trust and, after consulting with the legal support team, plans to request a police investigation.
Impersonating a public official constitutes a serious criminal act under Article 234, Paragraph 2 (Accusation) of the Criminal Procedure Act and Article 118 (Impersonation of a Public Official) of the Criminal Act.
Additionally, the city has shared the details of the incident with all employees and plans to raise awareness and prevent recurrence of similar cases by informing relevant organizations through future meetings.
Yoon Byungtae, Mayor of Naju, stated, "Forging documents while impersonating a public official is a serious crime that undermines citizens' trust and disrupts the order of city administration," and added, "Taking this incident as an opportunity, we will further strengthen our prevention system and make every effort to block similar cases in the future."
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