From Marijuana to Sexual Harassment... National Pension Service Criticized at the National Assembly Audit

57 Disciplinary Actions Against National Pension Service Employees Over 4 Years
Service President Promises "Reform Plan Announcement by Year-End"

Kim Yong-jin, Chairman of the National Pension Service, is responding during the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee's audit of the National Pension Service held on the 14th. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] On the 14th, during the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee’s audit of the National Pension Service (NPS), misconduct by NPS employees, including marijuana use and sexual misconduct, was sharply criticized.

Last month, four fund management employees of the National Pension Service were referred to the police on charges of marijuana use, and various corrupt acts related to the NPS, such as employees holding personal stocks, were uncovered.

At the audit, In Jae-geun, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out, "The National Pension Service manages a fund worth 770 trillion won and is responsible for securing the public’s retirement income, so a high level of integrity and morality is required. However, recently, misconduct such as employees’ marijuana use, various sexual misconducts, and drunk driving, which betray public trust, have continued to occur."

According to Lee Jong-sung, a member of the People Power Party, 57 NPS employees were disciplined over the past four years (2017 to July 2020) for various misconducts including bribery, drunk driving, workplace affairs, sexual harassment, verbal abuse, workplace bullying, harsh language, using business trip time for personal matters, leaking confidential information, and fraudulent receipt of travel expenses.

In response, Kim Yong-jin, the NPS Commissioner, said, "I repeatedly offer my apologies to the public," and added, "We will announce reform measures to restore public trust by the end of the year." He also stated, "We have established the 'NPS Reform Promotion Team,' composed of executives and department heads, to intensively discuss reform methods and tasks," explaining, "The reform measures will comprehensively include prevention of recurrence, alleviation of public inconvenience, and institutional innovation to enhance trust."

Previously, in 2018, there was a case where an employee was dismissed after having sexual relations with a female employee who was married and then assaulting and threatening that employee. In the same year, another employee received a one-month suspension for making sexual harassment remarks during lunch with subordinates, such as "Rich people all cheat; should we try swapping spouses too?"

Regarding solutions to these sexual misconduct issues, Commissioner Kim explained, "We are preparing measures to strengthen strict punishment under a zero-tolerance policy to completely exclude such individuals from public service," and added, "Preventing secondary damage is also important, so if harm occurs, the perpetrator will be immediately separated, and we will actively protect victims through support measures, psychological counseling, and legal assistance services."

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