Changwon City Suspends Official for Borrowing Large Sum From Work-Related Company, Requests Investigation

An official from Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam is under police investigation after failing to report borrowing a large sum of money from a company related to his work duties.

According to Changwon City and other sources on March 10, the city official, referred to as Mr. A, is suspected of borrowing 50 million won in cash from the head of a company related to his work duties in the middle of last year, but failed to report it.

The Conflict of Interest Prevention Act for Public Officials stipulates that when a public official borrows money from someone related to their work, they are required to report it to their affiliated institution.

However, Mr. A reportedly did not inform the city of this fact.

Changwon City Hall, Gyeongnam. Photo by Seryeong Lee

It has been reported that Mr. A repaid both the principal and the interest in early February of this year, but this occurred after rumors had already spread within and outside the city government that he had borrowed money from a work-related party.

The city recently became aware of the situation and conducted an audit of Mr. A.

During the audit, Mr. A reportedly stated that it was a simple financial transaction with an acquaintance and that he was unaware of the obligation to report it.

Based on the audit results, the city determined that there was a potential legal violation. On March 9, Mr. A was suspended from his position, and the city requested a police investigation into possible violations of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act and whether the transaction involved any quid pro quo.

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