Busan Office of Education Announces Comprehensive Measures to Prevent Recurrence of Public Fund Embezzlement

The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education (Superintendent Kim Seokjun) announced on June 10 a "Comprehensive Improvement Plan to Eradicate Accounting Incidents" aimed at enhancing transparency and reliability in accounting operations, following a series of recent embezzlement cases involving public funds.

The Office explained that the new measures are intended to fundamentally address the root causes of recent accounting incidents, which were revealed to stem from inadequate management of corporate card usage and insufficient oversight in expenditure processing. The core of the plan is a comprehensive review of the accounting system and the strengthening of internal controls.

The improvement plan consists of five key initiatives: ▲ reinforcing a dual-check system for accounting processes ▲ completely blocking improper use of corporate cards ▲ strengthening checks on mandatory accounting requirements ▲ increasing penalties when similar cases are uncovered ▲ enhancing integrity and ethical awareness among accounting-related public officials.

The Office will strengthen dual verification processes in accounting by distributing expenditure checklists, requiring administrators to verify cashbooks monthly, and having cashiers directly confirm transfers during refund resolutions.

For corporate card management, not only the person in charge but also the cashier will be required to receive usage notification texts, and restrictions on usage during late-night hours (11 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next day) will be implemented. In addition, it will become mandatory to automatically generate corporate card expenditure logs linked to approval records, and to cross-check these logs with card statements and card accounts.

To further enhance accounting transparency, regular inspections of essential items such as corporate card and cashbook records will be institutionalized. In the event of similar incidents in the future, the Office will intensify audits, impose strict disciplinary measures on managers, and reflect internal control items in integrity assessments of high-ranking officials, thereby raising the level of penalties. The Office will also promote ethical awareness and job expertise by strengthening integrity pledges and training for administrative and accounting staff, as well as increasing training hours for accounting duties.

The Office will simultaneously assess the state of accounting operations at all institutions, including schools. A full-scale audit of corporate card usage will be conducted, and if any suspicious transactions are detected, the Office will request audits and provide separate consulting. A regular monitoring system will also be established and operated.

Superintendent Kim Seokjun emphasized, "This improvement plan focuses on strengthening internal controls and raising awareness of integrity," adding, "We will continuously monitor to ensure the plan is properly implemented in the field, and we will do our utmost to normalize and restore trust in Busan education."

Busan Metropolitan Office of Education.

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