Refusal to Submit Data on 'Jeonguiyeon Accounting Irregularities'... Ministries Stand By Indifferently

Office of the Justice Memory Solidarity, Mapo-gu, Seoul / Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Government agencies supervising and managing the Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeonguiyeondae) are consecutively refusing the National Assembly's requests for data.

According to the National Assembly on the 24th, Lee Ju-hwan, a member of the Future United Party, recently requested data from the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) regarding Jeonguiyeondae’s annual business plans, budget and settlement reports, and property lists for the past five years (2015?2019). However, the NHRCK rejected the request citing unusual reasons. The NHRCK is the competent authority where Jeonguiyeondae is registered. The NHRCK stated, "The documents submitted by Jeonguiyeondae to the commission are documents produced by the corporation," and "Since the corporation that produced the documents has the authority to handle them, we cannot submit them." Furthermore, regarding the request for work status and audit result reports, the NHRCK said, "Jeonguiyeondae is a non-profit corporation established under Article 32 of the Civil Act," and that materials managed by the corporation cannot be submitted.

Jeonguiyeondae applied for corporate establishment to the NHRCK in 2016 and was approved in August of the same year. According to the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Public Interest Corporations, public interest corporations must report their business plans, budgets, business performance, and settlements annually to the competent authority. Notably, Article 14 of this law stipulates that the competent authority supervises the affairs of public interest corporations and may take administrative measures if they are operated improperly.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly’s request for data is explained by Lee’s office as a necessary preliminary procedure to investigate a series of allegations raised against Jeonguiyeondae and to determine whether the competent authority properly supervised it. According to Article 128 of the National Assembly Act, the National Assembly may request the government and administrative agencies to submit direct reports or documents necessary for agenda items, national audits, or investigations, as well as photos and videos held by the relevant agencies, by resolution of the plenary session or committees. Lee said, "The materials requested from the NHRCK are usually submitted when requested by the National Assembly," and criticized, "This is a matter where there are public suspicions of accounting fraud by Jeonguiyeondae, but the competent authority responsible for supervision is doing nothing."

Other government agencies besides the NHRCK are also refusing to submit materials related to Jeonguiyeondae. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family initially refused requests from Gwak Sang-do of the Future United Party for materials such as the "list of members and meeting records of the Committee for the Review of Support and Memorial Projects for Japanese Military Comfort Women Victims over the past 10 years" and "regular reports on support projects for comfort women victims submitted by Jeonguiyeondae," citing concerns that it could hinder fair work performance. After opposition backlash, they submitted only part of the materials. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided not to disclose related documents despite numerous demands following allegations that Yoon Mi-hyang, former director of Jeonguiyeondae (currently a member of the Democratic Party of Korea), had prior knowledge of the 2015 Korea-Japan comfort women agreement.

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