Yong Hyein Faces Another Police Report Over Alleged Personal Use of Government Subsidies

Violation of the Political Funds Act and Alleged Embezzlement and Breach of Trust

"Research Institute Subsidies Used for Civic Group Office Expenses"

Yong Hyein, a lawmaker from the Basic Income Party who has been nominated as Minister of Gender Equality and Family, has been reported to the police over allegations that she used state subsidies for expenses related to a civic group's office.

Yong Hyein, a lawmaker of the Basic Income Party nominated as the Minister of Gender Equality and Family, is heading to the office set up for the confirmation hearing preparation in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the 4th. Photo by Yonhap News.

On the morning of September 4, former Seoul Metropolitan Council member Lee Jongbae announced that he had filed a petition with the National Sinmungo public grievance channel, reporting Assemblywoman Yong and other Basic Income Party officials to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on charges of violating the Political Funds Act and committing work-related embezzlement and breach of trust. Lee insisted there should be an investigation into the Basic Income Policy Institute—an affiliated think tank under the Basic Income Party—for allegedly spending government subsidies on office expenses for the Alba Union civic group, as well as the parties to whom the Basic Income Party paid research consulting fees.

Lee further pointed out, based on accounting documents submitted by the Basic Income Policy Institute to the office of Jo Jiyeon, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, and the National Election Commission, that from August 2022 to July 2023, the subsidies received from the central party were used for monthly rent and management fees for the Alba Union office located in Mapo-gu, Seoul. In response, the Basic Income Party explained the previous day, "This was a fair payment for the actual workspace used by the institute," adding that "in accordance with the sublease contract, the institute covered about 30% of the total rental costs, including management fees."

Lee also took issue with the fact that the Basic Income Party, separately from the institute, commissioned individuals for policy research projects and paid consulting fees ranging from 4.5 million won to up to around 14 million won per project. He demanded clarification, noting that the surnames of those contracted overlapped with several party members, raising the need to verify whether the research was genuinely carried out and whether these contracts were a means to provide payments to certain party officials.

Previously, Assemblywoman Yong had also been reported to the police over suspicions that after paying her political funds to the Basic Income Party as a form of special party dues, the party then paid a salary to her spouse. She was also reported in connection with using the VIP lounge at Gimpo International Airport with her family, as well as posting a video on social media before local elections while wearing clothing displaying the party’s name.

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