“Gwangju Design Promotion Institute, Stop Attempts to Identify Whistleblowers”

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Participation Autonomy 21 announced on the 14th that it demands the Gwangju Design Promotion Institute to stop the internal whistleblower hunt.

The organization stated, “On the previous day, audits by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, City Hall, and Labor Office were conducted on the Gwangju Design Promotion Institute,” adding, “The main investigation topics are known to be unfair contract awards and discrimination against non-regular workers.”

It continued, “The Design Promotion Institute is reported to have repeatedly received orders and unfairly purchased about 20 million won worth of ceramics from a ceramics company operated by an acquaintance,” and “These ceramics have been left unattended at the Gwangju Design Promotion Institute for several months without proper use.”

Additionally, “The acquaintance previously worked at the same workplace as the head of the Design Promotion Institute and was frequently appointed as an evaluator and selection committee member for service projects commissioned by the Gwangju Design Promotion Institute,” emphasizing, “This person was also appointed as a personnel committee member and was deeply involved in operations, raising suspicions of a special relationship with the head.”

Furthermore, “The serious issue is that during the audit process triggered by the internal whistleblowing, the head of the Design Promotion Institute is conducting a hunt for the whistleblowers,” pointing out, “They are pressuring those suspected of whistleblowing and forcing them to withdraw their reports.”

Moreover, “Pressuring whistleblowers to cancel their reports is nothing short of shameful,” explaining, “Especially since the main subjects of this internal whistleblowing are powerless non-regular young workers, the seriousness is significant.”

It added, “We demand that the city audit agencies clearly investigate such unfair attempts, including the hunt for internal whistleblowers.”

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