Suspected Violation of International Book Fair Subsidy Law... Ministry of Culture Requests Police Investigation of 출협 President

Ministry of Culture Requests Police Investigation of Yoon Cheol-ho, Chairman of the Korea Publishers Association, and Joo Il-woo, Representative of the International Book Fair
Minister Park Bo-gyun: "No Exceptions in Uncovering the Truth Behind Taxpayer Money Allegations"

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 3rd that it has requested an investigation by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency into Yoon Cheol-ho, president of the Korea Publishers Association, and Ju Il-woo, representative of the Seoul International Book Fair, on charges of violating the 'Act on the Management of Subsidies' in connection with allegations of missing revenue from the Seoul International Book Fair.

The Seoul International Book Fair is an event hosted by the Korea Publishers Association with support from the Korea Publication Industry Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. According to the Ministry, approximately 1 billion KRW in government subsidies are invested annually. The Ministry has been conducting an audit, stating that the Publishers Association should settle and report subsidy and revenue details to the Publication Promotion Agency according to subsidy regulations after the event ends, but has been inadequate in doing so.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo-gyun [Photo by Yonhap News]

Regarding the audit results, the Ministry stated that many parts of the transaction details in the copies of bankbooks for the book fair revenues from 2018 to 2022 submitted by the Publishers Association were deleted or blind-processed (marked as blank in white), and that a comparison with the original bankbooks confirmed that several hundred million KRW of revenue was missing. The Ministry has requested an investigation by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, considering the possibility of intentional omission by the Publishers Association, to accurately ascertain the facts.

Park Bo-gyun, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, “There are no exceptions in pursuing and clarifying suspicions of deviation and waste related to taxes that contain the sweat, blood, and tears of the people. This investigation request is a duty to the people who provided the national funds and is also inevitable to protect the honor of all member companies of the Publishers Association.” He added, “The reckless and absurd act of blind-processing, which would not be done if there were no suspicions, is a mystery, and I hope the investigation will clarify the facts.”

Regarding the allegations of violating the Subsidy Act raised by the Ministry, the Publishers Association has previously claimed that it has never completed the settlement of the International Book Fair without approval from the Ministry’s officers and the Publication Promotion Agency, and that the obligation to return excess profits from the International Book Fair to the state is not stipulated by law, demanding the dismissal of Minister Park Bo-gyun.

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