South Korean Official Caught Requesting Son's Job, Accepting Golf Balls

A recent audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection has uncovered a public official's abuse of power, involving a request for his son's employment and the acceptance of valuable gifts. The official, identified as an office director at the Public Procurement Service, allegedly asked a private company representative to hire his son in March 2021. The company was a subcontractor for a major government IT project at the time.

The son was subsequently placed in an AI and big data firm, but lacked the necessary qualifications, leading to his resignation within seven months due to poor job performance. Despite this, he received approximately $16,000 in salary. The company later re-hired him, paying him over $66,000 by May 2024.

In a separate incident, a high-ranking official from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups was found to have solicited gifts for personal use. This official requested golf balls, valued at around $1,270, from an executive at the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency. The executive allegedly inflated event printing budgets to cover the cost of the golf balls.

The audit also highlighted significant issues in a procurement process for diesel generators intended for Ukraine. The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) purchased 170 generators through competitive bidding, but the winning bidder had submitted falsified sales records to qualify. KOICA later awarded a contract for the remaining 30 generators through a non-competitive process, reportedly wasting about $280,000 due to insufficient review of quotations.