By Kim Bo-eun
The U.S.-Korea Institute (USKI) stated it will close next month due to a cut in funding from the South Korean government, media outlets reported Tuesday.
The USKI is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, affiliated with the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. It runs the website 38 North specializing in North Korea affairs.
The USKI received 2.1 billion won ($1.87 million) in annual funding from the government, through the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) affiliated with the Prime Minister's Office.
This is about 60 percent of its total budget, according to a KIEP official. The USKI also receives funding from Johns Hopkins University, she said.
According to AP, USKI Chairman Robert Gallucci said the think tank will close in May, after rejecting “utterly inappropriate meddling” in its academic affairs.
Earlier, the government stated it would stop funding the institute starting in June, citing problems with transparency in accounting and selecting visiting scholars and interns.
The USKI claimed there had been pressure from Cheong Wa Dae to oust the institute's director Jae H. Ku, due to his conservative inclinations that were out of line with the liberal Moon Jae-in administration. Ku has headed the think tank since 2007.
Cheong Wa Dae refuted that the problem was the institute's lax reporting on accounts _ an issue raised by lawmakers since 2014. The USKI was allocated funding for this year, on the condition it reorganize and improve its transparency, and submit a report outlining these measures.
Records from the National Assembly backed the presidential office's claims.
The USKI has become a political issue, but the core issue appears to be the think tank's questionable use of government funding.
Last year, lawmakers requested the USKI submit accounting records, but only received two pages.
“We receive records from numerous institutions, but never have we received two pages from a place that receives 2 billion won in funds a year,” said an aide to Rep. Lee Hack-young of the Democratic Party of Korea.
The lawmaker's office received records from the USKI through KIEP.
The USKI stated it sent 3,000 to 5,000 pages of records to KIEP.
A KIEP official said only two pages contained information on accounting.
“The rest were newsletters and columns,” she said.
Rep. Lee's office said the issue was not correctly portrayed.
“Personnel issues have arisen, while the USKI had many problems,” he said. “Other than 38 North, the think tank was not producing significant results.”