Six public officials referred to prosecutors after taking leave for medical checks they did not attend

Six officials from Gwangju’s Buk-gu District Office have been referred to prosecutors after taking official leave for health screenings they did not attend on the scheduled dates.

The Bukbu Police Station in Gwangju said the officials, who hold grades six or seven, were sent to prosecutors without detention on suspicion of falsifying electronic public records. They allegedly applied for official leave between Dec. 20, 2019, and June 2022, then neither underwent the screenings on those dates nor canceled the leave or changed it to annual leave.

Police found that the officials received the screenings on different dates. Some admitted the allegations during questioning, while others reportedly said surgery or similar circumstances prevented them from attending as scheduled.

Local civil service rules allow officials to take official leave for required health screenings. The matter was first identified during a comprehensive audit by the Gwangju Audit Committee in 2023. The committee found 36 Buk-gu officials had used official leave improperly and recommended disciplinary reprimands. It also identified improperly paid compensation for unused annual leave.