Funding cuts ordered for civic groups that misused funds

Bang Moon-kyu, minister of government policy coordination, speaks during a meeting with audit officials in downtown Seoul on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Bang Moon-kyu, minister of government policy coordination, instructed each administrative agency to implement “bold restructuring” measures when formulating their 2024 budgets, including budget termination for any civic groups that misappropriated state subsidies.

The remarks, delivered in a meeting with the audit officials of central administrative agencies at the Government Complex Seoul on Wednesday, came three days after the presidential office announced that 1,865 cases of corruption were found in some 12,000 civic groups that received state subsidies over the past three years.

A four-month investigation led by the Office for Government Policy Coordination since January found that the misdeeds cost the government a total of 31.4 billion won ($24.1 million).

“Each ministry should promptly initiate investigations or request audits from the Board of Audit and Inspection, depending on the severity of the misconduct,” Bang said in the meeting.

Based on the findings of the investigations and audits, Bang stressed the importance of reimbursing misused subsidies and excluding civic groups responsible from participating in future government assistance programs, as well as publicly disclosing the list of those civic groups.

To prevent future recurrences, the government said any civic group found to have misused state funds won’t be able to participate in any government subsidy projects for the following two to five years.

Channels through which members of the public can report corruption in civic groups will also be additionally established, with “substantial rewards” offered to the most valuable tip-offs, the government said.

Most of the corruption cases found in the latest investigation were in regard to embezzlement, false claims, using funds for personal purposes, insider trading and falsifying documents.

Among the findings in the investigation, a secretary general of one civic organization was found to have filed false reports on overseas business trips. The unidentified official allegedly pocketed 13.4 million won in subsidies on two overseas trips that were personal in nature, and one falsely reported trip in which he had never even left the country. The travels were disguised as efforts to strengthen overseas cooperation.

The person also allegedly received 19.4 million won for a book project that never happened.

Several employees of another civic group allegedly spent 18 million won buying booze and paying for entertainment instead of supporting families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, as they claimed to be doing.

Lee Kwan-sup, President Yoon Suk Yeol’s senior secretary for state affairs planning, said in a Sunday press briefing that the government was planning to cut at least 500 billion won in subsidies for civic groups next year.

BY LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]