[Exclusive] Delayed Disclosure of Jeonguiyeon Donation Records on Website... Violation of Articles of Association

Posted 2018 Accounting Data Carelessly
Controversy Grows, Then Released Late
Donation Details Released Also Differ
From National Tax Service Submission Amounts

On the afternoon of the 20th, the Seoul Mapo-gu office of the Justice Memory Solidarity, where the prosecution's search and seizure related to allegations of poor accounting and the high-priced purchase of the Anseong shelter is underway. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeonguiyeondae) was found to have posted incomplete accounting data for 2018 and, after controversies such as embezzlement of donations arose, belatedly disclosed detailed information. However, it was confirmed that the donation details on the website also differ in amount from the data submitted by Jeonguiyeondae to the National Tax Service.

According to Jeonguiyeondae on the 22nd, the organization posted the '2018 Donation Collection Completion Report' on its website on April 4 last year but did not disclose the usage details. However, more than a year later, on the 19th of this month, it suddenly announced, "A typographical error was found in the date of the 2018 Donation Collection Completion Report as of May 19, 2020, and it has been corrected," and disclosed the usage details. Article 28 of the foundation’s self-established bylaws stipulates that the annual donation amount and usage details must be disclosed on the internet homepage by the end of March of the following year. Jeonguiyeondae not only failed to disclose the status of donation amounts in a timely manner but also only revealed the most critical content?the usage details?after related controversies surfaced.

Jeonguiyeondae is a nonprofit corporation established under Article 32 of the Civil Act and is a "designated donation organization." According to the Act on the Collection and Use of Donations, designated donation organizations are obligated to disclose the amount collected and expenditure details on their websites. Failure to comply may result in cancellation of the designated donation organization registration under the Donation Act.

This reveals problems in the organization’s handling of funds raised to resolve the issue of victims of the Japanese military sexual slavery. Most of the suspicions raised after the press conference held by comfort woman victim Lee Yong-soo (92) on the 7th, who claimed the foundation’s fund management was opaque, are related to money, especially donations. Using 1 billion KRW donated by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the foundation paid an excessively high purchase price during the construction of the "House Where Peace and Healing Meet (Anseong Shelter)" in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, but the grandmothers found it difficult to live there, so it was not used for its intended purpose. In June last year, the foundation conducted a fundraising campaign to build a center in Uganda in memory of the late grandmother Kim Bok-dong, spending about 12 million KRW to purchase land, but the Ugandan Kim Bok-dong Center project was canceled due to government opposition. The land was donated to a local organization. Because of this, Jeonguiyeondae has been criticized for starting fundraising without properly considering the circumstances.

The discrepancy between the annual donation amounts reported to the National Tax Service’s Hometax system and those on the website also reflects poor donation management. Currently, Jeonguiyeondae’s website states that 635,558,851 KRW was raised and the same amount was spent in 2018. However, the Hometax disclosure data shows that 825,506,176 KRW was raised and 862,628,840 KRW was spent. Although the bylaws require annual disclosure of donation and expenditure details, the website’s disclosure report defines the fundraising period as February 10 to December 31, 2018, which differs from the regulations. The 2017 data also show inconsistencies between Hometax and the website disclosures.

The format for fundraising disclosure was also inconsistent. In 2017, fundraising methods were listed as "1 million citizen fundraising," "200,000 companions," etc., but in 2018, they were categorized as bank transfers, sponsored goods campaigns, fundraising through the website, and sponsorship events. In 2019, no disclosure was made at all. Professor Bae Won-gi of the Taxation Department at Hongik University Graduate School of Business said, "Failing even to fulfill the obligation to disclose donation collection and expenditure details on the website is evidence that the organization managed donations negligently."

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