"No One Knows What Time They Start Work"... Serious Discipline Lapses in Public Corporations

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Public Corporation Audit Reports Reveal
Employees Returning to Work After Close Contact with Children Suspected of COVID-19
Company Housing Jeonse Deposit of 100 Million KRW Used for 'Real Estate Investment'
Overseas Dispatched Employee Forged Documents to Illegally Receive Accommodation Fees

Reference photo [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] "No one knows what time I come in. No one checks. I don't have to come at the set time."

On March 6, a report was submitted to the audit office through the anonymous reporting system 'Red Whistle' of Korea Midland Power, which was implementing a flexible work system. The report pointed out the poor attendance of Mr. A, who was habitually late by more than 30 minutes compared to the designated start time, and stated that he responded as above. Mr. A rarely filled out the outing log when going out, and on one occasion, he left after having his department head sign on his behalf, claiming to go for a hospital visit, but did not return. Based on the report received, the audit office inspected the discipline and attendance management status of the relevant department.

According to statements from employees who responded to the investigation, Mr. A was often late for work and sometimes left work as early as 11:30 a.m. on Fridays or during lunch breaks. Especially when the department head was absent due to vacation or business trips, Mr. A was late for work, left without filling out the outing log, or sometimes did not return at all. Additionally, Mr. A used the corporate card for snacks at private club meetings. He stated, "I mixed up meal expenses after overtime work with snack expenses for the club" and "I will refund the entire amount used." The audit office recommended disciplinary action against Mr. A for violating employment rules, flexible work operation guidelines, and corporate card management guidelines. The department head, Mr. B, who was responsible for managing attendance and outing logs of subordinate employees but neglected these duties, also received a warning.

On the 27th, as the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) continued, medical staff at a screening clinic installed at Seodaemun-gu Public Health Center in Seoul are measuring the temperatures of citizens. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

The disciplinary laxity of public enterprise employees recently caught in audits does not end here. There was also a case where an employee came to work despite being a suspected COVID-19 infection case and having close contact with an infected person. On Saturday, April 4, an employee C of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power’s child returned from overseas. Mr. C accompanied his child by car from KTX Busan Station to their home. Both wore masks, and the child lived separately inside the house. On April 6, the child said, "I don't feel well," so a COVID-19 test was conducted, and the next day, the child was confirmed positive.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power mandated a two-week self-quarantine for all arrivals and required family members with quarantined individuals to work from home until infection status was confirmed. However, Mr. C went to the office on April 7, before the child's infection status was confirmed, and left work the same day after being notified of the child's positive test. He stated, "I came to work because important ongoing tasks were progressing rapidly" and "I followed distancing rules with colleagues during the short time I was at work." Mr. C was reported to have tested negative for COVID-19. The audit office issued a caution, stating, "Despite the child being classified as a suspected case after returning from overseas and himself being classified as a close contact, he did not comply with instructions to work from home until the child's infection status was confirmed and came to the office."

At Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, a case was also uncovered where an employee D did not return a 100 million KRW deposit for company housing for over two years. It is suspected that the deposit was used for real estate investment as if it were his own money. Mr. D, who lived in a temporary accommodation near the company, signed a lease contract for an apartment with a 100 million KRW deposit in June 2016 as a co-tenant with the company. After living in the apartment for about eight months, Mr. D was transferred to another regional headquarters but has not returned the deposit even two years after the lease period ended. In 2018, when the contract expired, the housing affairs officer repeatedly requested the return, but Mr. D either did not respond or postponed the return date. When the company notified in June last year that a 'forced eviction penalty' of 480,000 KRW would be deducted monthly from his salary, Mr. D promised to return the deposit by the end of that year but failed to keep the promise again.

The audit office stated, "Mr. D changed his statements four times, first saying he used the 100 million KRW deposit for real estate investment, then saying it was used to repay personal loans," and added, "It is clear that company funds, which cannot be used for personal purposes, were used for personal debt repayment." Mr. D expressed his intention to return the deposit by the end of 2021 with money from selling his own house, but it seems difficult to fulfill. It was revealed that one villa owned by Mr. D has 12 provisional seizures and one mortgage totaling 470 million KRW. The audit office reported, "It is hard to trust his intention to return the deposit, and the recovery is uncertain," and requested disciplinary action against Mr. D.

At Korea National Oil Corporation, an employee dispatched to an overseas local subsidiary was caught improperly claiming lodging expenses. Mr. E submitted receipts with false lodging periods and fees and even forged official documents to receive more money than the actual lodging expenses paid. A company official said, "After deliberation by the personnel committee on the 24th, the employee was dismissed," and added, "We feel sorry and apologize for such incidents occurring during the difficult COVID-19 situation." He further stated, "The management's position is to respond firmly and thoroughly when misconduct by company employees is detected," and "The company’s audit office will continue to conduct special audits to detect misconduct, considering the public’s heightened ethical awareness."

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