"Korea Investment Corporation Pays Private Operation Committee Member Who Never Attended Meetings 2.5 Million KRW Monthly"

Rep. Choo Kyung-ho of the People Power Party: "There is no regulation restricting investment using internal information"

Jin Seung-ho, President of Korea Investment Corporation, attended the National Assembly's Public Accounts Committee hearing on the 13th, held at the National Assembly, reporting on the operations of Korea Eximbank, Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation, and others. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] It has been revealed that the Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), a public institution under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, paid private operating committee members who never held a meeting a monthly allowance of 2.5 million KRW.

According to data received from KIC by Choo Kyung-ho, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee from the People Power Party, the private operating committee members who decide on mid- to long-term investment policies and asset delegation received a total allowance of 120 million KRW over the past four years without holding a single meeting.

Specifically, the payments were as follows: 3 months in 2017 (45 million KRW), 2 months in 2018 (13.34 million KRW for 3 members), 2 months in 2019 (30 million KRW), 1 month in 2020 (15 million KRW), and 1 month in 2021 (15 million KRW).

Additionally, KIC private operating committee members face no sanctions for using internal information to invest in stocks. Despite having access to information about specific countries or companies eligible for investment through meetings, there are no prohibitive measures in place. This contrasts with KIC employees' internal control standards (Articles 4 and 6), which require monthly reporting of stock trading details to the compliance support department and prohibit trading of overseas listed stocks except when selling stocks held before joining KIC with prior approval from the compliance officer.

Representative Choo stated, "Allowances are compensation given for work done, but paying 2.5 million KRW monthly without any work undermines the social value of 'no work, no pay.' Moreover, the private operating committee members have no restrictions on investments using internal information, which is an excessive privilege. KIC should promptly revise the related regulations."

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