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 chief may be suspended
By Jun Ji-hye
Cho Nam-pung
By Jun Ji-hye
The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs is considering suspending Korean Veterans Association (KorVA) Chairman Cho Nam-pung for abusing his authority to rehire people whom the ministry deemed to be “unqualified.”
Choi Jung-sik, a ministry official, told reporters Monday that Cho rehired 21 out of 25 people, whose appointments were supposed to be canceled following the orders of the ministry, which supervises the association.
“After we understand the situation fully, we will implement disciplinary actions including the suspension of duties for Cho,” Choi said.
At the end of July, the ministry ordered Cho to cancel the appointments of 25 employees within a month, saying they were recruited without a proper hiring process.
The order came after the ministry’s special audit, which began on June 26, about a week after it received tips from a whistle-blower.
Among the unqualified employees, two resigned, while Cho dismissed 23 in an apparent bid to pretend he complied with the ministry’s orders. Cho then rehired 21.
Most of those people helped Cho’s campaign during the election to choose the KorVA chairman.
Controversy surrounding the former Army general, 77, is increasing after he left for the United States and Mexico on Monday morning, a move that also ignored the ministry’s advice to refrain from overseas business trips.
According to the KorVA, Cho is scheduled to return on Sept. 13 after meeting U.S. Veterans Association members as well as Korean veterans living in Mexico City.
The ministry advised him not to go overseas because parliamentary inspections of the government offices will begin on Sept. 10, with a session targeting the ministry scheduled for Sept. 18.
The KorVA union claimed there was great possibility that Cho would extend his overseas schedule to avoid a possible call from lawmakers to attend the parliamentary session.
When advising Cho not to go overseas, the ministry also cited the prosecution’s current investigation into his alleged corruption.
In early August, the union filed a complaint with the prosecution against Cho for having allegedly bribed voters during an election for the chairmanship and taking kickbacks while appointing representatives of the association’s enterprises.
Cho and the association have yet to issue an official position, adding fuel to the controversy.
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 supervise the association properly.
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