Gimpo FC employee suspected of embezzling 5.8 billion won in public funds
Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- An employee at Gimpo FC is suspected of embezzling approximately 5.8 billion won in public funds.
- Gimpo City Mayor Lee Ki-hyung announced the embezzlement during an emergency press conference.
- Police have booked the employee on charges of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes.
An employee at Gimpo FC is under investigation for allegedly embezzling approximately 5.8 billion won (about $4.2 million) in public funds. Gimpo City Mayor Lee Ki-hyung announced the embezzlement allegations during an emergency press conference on May 14.
The club discovered the irregularities during an internal review and subsequently reported the situation to Gimpo City and the Gimpo Police Station. Police have booked the employee, identified only as 'A', on charges of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes. This law mandates a minimum of five years imprisonment or life imprisonment for embezzlement exceeding 5 billion won.
There are suspicions that an employee within Gimpo FC has embezzled public funds amounting to 5.8 billion won.
Mayor Lee stated that the employee, who was responsible for managing the club's accounts, allegedly diverted funds from the corporate account instead of depositing them normally. Gimpo City believes the embezzlement began in January.
Gimpo City plans to conduct a special audit of all local public corporations and affiliated organizations, including Gimpo FC. The city has vowed to hold those responsible accountable, regardless of their position, and to pursue the recovery of the embezzled funds and pursue civil and criminal charges.
I understand that the person in charge of account management has been confirmed to have embezzled Gimpo FC's budget, not depositing it normally into the corporate account.
Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.