District Office Official Reported to Police for Deceiving Funeral Donation as Father's Funeral Instead of Uncle's

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] A public official who deceived others by claiming an uncle's death as his father's death to collect condolence money has been reported to the police.

On the 22nd, the Songpa Police Station in Seoul announced that it had received a complaint filed by Songpa District Office requesting an investigation into Mr. Kim, a public official in his 50s at grade 7 affiliated with Songpa District, on charges of fraud.

According to Songpa District, Mr. Kim, who worked at a local community center, posted an obituary for his father's death on the internal staff bulletin board at the end of last month. Colleagues contributed condolence money, some visited the funeral hall set up in a rural area to pay respects in person, and Mr. Kim also took five days of condolence leave. It was also investigated that Mr. Kim informed local residents he knew personally about his father's death and received condolence money from them.

However, it was revealed that it was an uncle's death, not his father's, and the district office launched an audit. The district office judged that Mr. Kim violated the public officials' code of conduct and service regulations, dismissed him from his position as of the 22nd, and requested severe disciplinary action from the Seoul Metropolitan Government. During the audit, Mr. Kim explained that "I considered and cared for my uncle as if he were my father, so I reported it as a father's death," and it is known that he promised to return the condolence money he received.

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