Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at the finance desk of The Korea Times, focuses primarily on economic policy and government agencies, mainly covering the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Budget and Planning, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service. She previously covered financial authorities, including the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, and earlier worked on the political, city and business desks, reporting on a wide range of issues.
Veterans' association mired by internal wrangle
By Jun Ji-hye
Cho Nam-pung
By Jun Ji-hye
The Korean Veterans Association (KorVA) is mired in an internal conflict over a series of corruption allegations involving its Chairman, Cho Nam-pung.
According to KorVA officials, Wednesday, Cho, a 77-year-old former Army general, ordered the association to carry out a special audit against the KorVA union leader, indentified by his surname Jang, for four days having started on Tuesday.
The reason for the audit is to find out whether Jang violated internal ethics regulations.
The measure came after the union filed a complaint with the prosecution against Cho, Tuesday, for having allegedly bribed voters during an election for the chairmanship and taking kickbacks while appointing representatives of enterprises run by the association.
The union was set up on June 24 to monitor the association, established in 1952, amid escalating controversy surrounding the chairman. It has submitted petitions accusing Cho of wrongdoing to the presidential office and the Board of Audit and Inspection.
The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans launched a special inspection against Cho on June 26. Most of the allegations have been found to be true, said the ministry on July 28.
The ministry’s inspection confirmed that Cho abused his authority to recruit unqualified people since his April swearing in. Cho ignored internal rules and hired 12 people who were close to him or helped him during his electioneering.
At the time, the ministry said it has taken measures to withdraw the inappropriate appointments.
However, the ministry failed to confirm the allegations that Cho paid about 5 million won to each voter ahead of the election to choose the KorVA chairman, because it has no authority to investigate bank accounts.
This led the union to file a complaint with the prosecution.
The union said Cho’s direction of the special audit against the union leader was an apparent act of retaliation.
What supports the union’s argument was that Cho uttered swear words during a meeting with 20 members, Tuesday, when he mentioned the union’s allegations.
“I won’t let it slide… I am not the scum that damages the honor of the KorVA for his own profit,” he was quoted as saying by officials.
The KorVA has about 8.5 million members nationwide and runs 10 enterprises with total annual sales estimated at about 400 billion won.
Because of the huge number of members and large profits it makes, the association has been frequently embroiled in a variety of controversies.
Critics say the latest case is simply another in a long line of corrupt activities, criticizing the ministry for failing to properly supervise the association.
In response, the ministry official said, “It is difficult for the government to deeply monitor an association which has its own internal rules.”
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