Controversy Over Whistleblower Identification in Seocheon-gun Audit Department Regarding Allegations Against County Governor and Others

"'Do you know who did it?'... 'The truth must be revealed through investigative agencies'
Audit department official: 'There can be no whistleblower identification'"

Seocheon County Office Building Exterior

A public official in Seocheon County, Chungnam Province, raised allegations of misconduct involving County Governor Kim Gi-woong and a team leader at the county office, sparking controversy over the county office’s audit department allegedly trying to identify the whistleblower.

An individual presumed to be an employee working at Seocheon County Office, referred to as Mr. A, filed a report on June 3rd through the Chungnam Provincial Government’s online public petition and whistleblowing platform, accusing Governor Kim and team leader Mr. B of illicit donation activities and conspiracy for pre-election campaigning.

In the report, Mr. A claimed, "Another public official, Mr. C, allegedly gifted a luxury handbag, believed to have been purchased at a duty-free shop during a trip to Osaka, Japan, last May, to Governor Kim’s wife."

Accordingly, the audit department of Seocheon County Office received related documents from the Chungnam Provincial Government on June 4th and is currently verifying the facts.

However, it is reported that the audit department has been individually contacting public officials to identify and track down the whistleblower who raised these misconduct allegations.

As a result, about 20 to 30 employees, including the governor and department heads, are being mentioned as subjects of the audit, with calls for a proper investigation through law enforcement to uncover the truth.

An anonymous public official stated, "An audit department staff member talked about the governor’s alleged misconduct and asked, 'Do you know who did it?' and 'If you have heard anything, please let us know.'"

Another official said, "The audit department staff have been asking around about this matter. How can they properly audit the governor and department heads? It was well known that employees visited the governor’s house," adding, "The truth should be revealed through investigative agencies."

Yet another official said, "Through a third party, I was asked if I had reported this, and then I was warned to be careful. I am angry and cannot tolerate being labeled as someone who digs into employees’ misconduct," and criticized, "The person with personnel authority cannot conduct a proper audit, so I don’t understand why the Chungnam Provincial Government transferred this case."

In response, a representative from the audit department stated, "It is unthinkable to try to identify the whistleblower," and denied ever making such statements.

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