Civil Servant Embezzles 2.5 Billion Won in 230 Transactions... Yeongcheon City Requests Investigation

Manipulated Local Finance Management System Since November Last Year
Fraudulent Transfers of City Budget to Personal Account
Police Investigation Requested; Suspected Cryptocurrency Investments Under Review

An official in charge of accounting at an administrative welfare center in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, was found to have embezzled public funds worth approximately 2.5 billion won by manipulating the Local Finance Management System. Yeongcheon City has suspended the employee from duty and requested a police investigation.

Yeongcheon City Hall Image

According to Yonhap News on July 20, Yeongcheon City confirmed during an internal accounting audit this month that employee A, responsible for accounting at a local administrative welfare center, had falsified records in the local finance management system (e-Hojo) on more than 230 occasions from November last year to last month, transferring a total of about 2.5 billion won from the city budget to his own account.

The investigation found that A continued the scheme by making it appear as if the funds were being used for legitimate budgetary purposes, such as the payment of public utility charges, obtaining approval from supervisors, and then actually wiring the money to his own account.

The crime came to light when it was recently discovered that the computerized budget balance of the administrative welfare center fell short due to excessive expenditures. Yeongcheon City immediately requested a police investigation and suspended A from duty after confirming the facts on July 14.

Police plan to investigate how the embezzled public funds were used, including suspicions that A invested the money in cryptocurrency and to determine the details and circumstances of the crime.

Yeongcheon City is also conducting its own investigation to examine the responsibilities of management and supervision. After reviewing whether the team leader and head of the department where A worked properly managed and monitored the accounting work, disciplinary action will be considered if negligence is found.

A Yeongcheon City official said, "The procedures for using the accounting system are complicated, so if not carefully checked, it is possible to miss the occurrence of any misconduct," and added, "We will review whether proper management and supervision were conducted." The official continued, "None of the embezzled funds have been recovered as of now," and "we believe the destinations of the stolen funds will be revealed through the police investigation."

Kim Byeongseom, Mayor of Yeongcheon City, held a press conference on this day and sincerely apologized to the citizens, stating, "I sincerely apologize to the citizens for the occurrence of such serious misconduct. Depending on the investigation results, we will hold those involved strictly accountable and pursue the recovery of the embezzled public funds to the end."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.