[2021 National Audit] Hwacheondaeyu Allegations Seongnamdogong Selected as 'Best Institution' by Ministry of the Interior and Safety

Assemblyman Yang Gi-dae: "Ministry of the Interior and Safety's management evaluation used as a pretext for promotion of key figures involved in favoritism allegations"

Yang Gi-dae Assemblyman

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] It has been revealed that the Ministry of the Interior and Safety selected Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, which is under suspicion of preferential treatment related to Hwacheon Daeyu, as an 'Outstanding Institution in Management Evaluation.'

According to data submitted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to Yang Gi-dae, a member of the National Assembly's Administrative Safety Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, Seongnam Urban Development Corporation was selected as 'Outstanding Grade in Management Evaluation' and 'Outstanding Institution in Management Evaluation' in the Ministry's management evaluations in 2017 and 2021.

Every year, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety conducts a 'Local Public Enterprise Management Evaluation' to provide the basis for employee performance bonuses, select contributors to the development of local public enterprises, and designate underperforming enterprises as targets for management diagnosis.

Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, which was subject to a search and seizure due to the Hwacheon Daeyu preferential treatment suspicion, received the highest grade in the 2017 local public enterprise management evaluation. However, in 2018, it was selected as a disciplinary institution in the government's comprehensive investigation into public institution recruitment irregularities, and it was revealed that employees had embezzled tens of millions of won since 2016.

Yoo Dong-gyu, former head of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation who is under suspicion of preferential treatment related to Hwacheon Daeyu, mentioned that the background for his appointment to Gyeonggi Tourism Organization was "because the corporation was selected as the highest grade in the 2017 Ministry of the Interior and Safety local public enterprise management evaluation."

In response, National Assembly member Yang Gi-dae criticized, "Despite Seongnam Urban Development Corporation being continuously involved in various corruptions, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's management evaluation not only failed to detect these but was rather used as a justification to promote a key figure suspected of preferential treatment related to Hwacheon Daeyu."

The reason Seongnam Urban Development Corporation received excellent results and its promoted projects did not appear in the management evaluation is known to be because the corporation was evaluated mainly on facility management. Although it is responsible for urban development in a city with a population of one million, it was evaluated based on facility management corporation indicators.

In the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's 2020 management evaluation, most criticisms were related to facility management, such as "When operating an ice rink, safety should be set as the highest value, but the management level shows a low awareness of safety issues," and "Seongnam Urban Development Corporation should expand citizen convenience facilities by establishing community centers for local residents."

Assemblyman Yang Gi-dae said, "The 'Public Institution Management Evaluation' conducted annually by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety is the minimum safety device to monitor local public institutions," and added, "The evaluation indicators should be refined to fit reality and ensure substantial evaluations."

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