Overseas Koreans Foundation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Recklessly Distributed Cash-like Gift Certificates Paid with Corporate Cards

Cash Vouchers Worth 43.32 Million KRW Paid to Overseas Koreans Foundation Staff Over the Past 3 Years
Rep. Kim Young-joo Points Out "Full Payment of Vouchers with Corporate Card"...Violation of Corporate Card Usage Guidelines Highlighted

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Overseas Koreans Foundation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been criticized for violating related guidelines by providing all employees with Onnuri gift certificates, a cash-equivalent voucher, in addition to holiday vacation expenses.

On the 14th, Kim Young-joo, a member of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, announced that after reviewing the Overseas Koreans Foundation's business promotion expenses under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was confirmed that the foundation violated internal guidelines by distributing Onnuri gift certificates to employees.

Over the past three years, the Overseas Koreans Foundation has provided Onnuri gift certificates to employees during sports events and holiday periods. The total amount of gift certificates given to employees over three years was calculated to be 43.32 million KRW. This was the result of the foundation giving 1.4 million KRW per person as holiday vacation expenses during each holiday.

Assemblyman Kim claimed that the Overseas Koreans Foundation clearly violated the "Guidelines on the Purchase, Use, and Management of Gift Certificates." Article 7 of the guidelines specifies the purposes for using gift certificates, including rewards given as prizes for commendations, bonuses or incentives for outstanding employees, awards related to system operations, competitions, and contests, and other cases recognized by the chairman for the operation and development of the institution. Article 8 restricts the use of gift certificates, stating that "giving gift certificates to internal employees merely as simple encouragement without special reasons" is prohibited.

The process of purchasing Onnuri gift certificates was also found to be problematic. The Overseas Koreans Foundation paid for all gift certificates worth 43.32 million KRW over three years using a corporate card. It was explained that the gift certificates were purchased with the corporate card, which is typically used for business promotion expenses, and then distributed to employees.

Assemblyman Kim pointed out that this violated both the purpose of the Overseas Koreans Foundation's business promotion expense execution guidelines and the corporate card usage guidelines. Article 10 of the corporate card usage guidelines clearly states that "gift certificates and other securities cannot be purchased in principle." The Overseas Koreans Foundation admitted to violating the guidelines, explaining that "it was difficult to withdraw cash to purchase gift certificates, so payment was made using the corporate card."

Assemblyman Kim said, "The foundation used business promotion expenses, which should be used for business consultation fees, food and beverage expenses, and other miscellaneous expenses related to the foundation's projects and operations, to pay employees in violation of related guidelines," adding, "The Overseas Koreans Foundation recklessly spent taxpayers' money while violating guidelines. Efforts must be made to prevent recurrence."

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