Bar expenses of 28 million won and shopping mall 1.48 million won... KISA executive dismissed for spending thousands with company card over 12 days

Concentrated Misconduct in One Area Over 2 Weeks
KISA Disciplines 18 for Misconduct Over 5 Years

A senior executive of the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), under the Ministry of Science and ICT, was dismissed after it was revealed that he embezzled tens of millions of won. This executive used the corporate card to pay for alcohol amounting to tens of millions of won and spent 1.5 million won on personal items at a shopping mall.

According to data disclosed on the 14th by Go Min-jeong, a member of the National Assembly’s Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, received from KISA, Mr. A, a Grade 2 employee belonging to the Digital Industry Headquarters, was dismissed after being caught using the corporate card for personal purposes.

Exterior view of the Korea Internet & Security Agency located in Bitgaram Innovation City, Naju-si, Jeollanam-do.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

In March of this year, after reporting a meeting expense plan to the agency, Mr. A spent a total of 33 million won in Gwangju Metropolitan City over 12 days from the 9th to the 20th of the same month. Of this, 28.38 million won was spent at bars. It was revealed that he visited bars 14 times in less than two weeks, spending more than 2 million won each time.

During the same period, he used lodging facilities 8 times and paid 1.55 million won. Additionally, under the pretext of meetings, he made five payments totaling 1.48 million won at a shopping mall. During the same period, he spent a total of 1.03 million won at restaurants over 17 occasions. The amount spent per meal exceeded 60,000 won.

Unlike most embezzlement cases that occur over a long period, Mr. A committed concentrated misconduct in one area over 12 days. In particular, during this period, he visited bars more than once a day and spent millions of won, exhibiting behavior beyond normal boundaries.

Upon discovering these facts, KISA requested an investigation from the Naju Police Station in Jeollanam-do in April and held a personnel committee meeting, dismissing Mr. A for violating the 'duty to maintain dignity' and 'prohibition of using budget for purposes other than intended.' The police transferred Mr. A to the prosecution in June and indicted him on charges of breach of duty in the same month.

In addition, over the past five years, 18 employees at KISA have been disciplined for misconduct such as falsifying documents to claim education and training expenses. Assemblywoman Go stated, "Cases of public institution employees embezzling taxpayers’ money as if it were their own never cease," and added, "Public institutions need to manage employees’ service attitudes more thoroughly."

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