Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education Uncovers Irregularities in Private School Corporation Accounting

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education conducted an audit on the operation of private school corporation accounts, uncovering irregularities and demanding corrective actions.

According to the Gwangju Office of Education on the 3rd, a complaint was recently raised regarding irregularities in the management of a private school corporation A within the jurisdiction. Accordingly, the audit office conducted an audit over the past month on the general corporate account budget planning and execution of the said private school corporation.

After receiving and analyzing the corporate card usage details, it was revealed that the private school corporation improperly used the card 423 times, amounting to over 15 million KRW, from August 2016, after the previous audit, until April 30, 2020.

By year, the amounts were 2,843,500 KRW (41 cases) in 2016, 8,547,669 KRW (251 cases) in 2017, 1,947,233 KRW (67 cases) in 2018, and 1,790,620 KRW (64 cases) in 2019.

This accounts for over half of the total card usage during the period, representing 90% of the total number of card transactions and 74% of the total amount.

In particular, the corporation’s chairman used the corporate card at convenience stores, coffee shops, fast food outlets, pubs, marts, and even hotels, hospitals, and rental car services in places such as Seoul, which is not the corporation’s location, frequently using it late at night, past midnight, and on holidays.

Moreover, the corporate accounting officer did not maintain supporting documents such as receipts for the chairman’s private use of the corporate card and recorded the expenses only as corporate business expenses without verifying the purpose or target of the use, thereby executing business promotion expenses improperly.

The Office of Education held the responsible parties accountable for negligence in budget planning and execution of the corporate accounts, demanding disciplinary actions, administrative measures, and recovery of funds.

The school corporation received an institutional warning, and the chairman, who privately used corporate business promotion funds for over four years, was reported on charges of embezzlement in the course of duty.

Baemin, the auditor of the Gwangju Office of Education, stated, “Private educational institutions must faithfully fulfill their obligations as national policy executors and public institutions,” adding, “If any future violations of accounting order contrary to the public nature and accountability of private educational institutions are detected, strict responsibility will be enforced.”

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