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Defense ministry caught diverting funds
By Jun Ji-hye
The Ministry of National Defense diverted funds to illegally subsidize a school for the children of military officers, the state auditor announced Thursday.
Between 2011 and 2014, the ministry received a total of 35 billion won ($30 million) in subsidies allocated to build a dormitory for Hanmin High School, a boarding school for the children of officers founded last year in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.
However, the money was used to build a new school building, not a dormitory, according to the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI).
The auditor said the ministry consequently violated the National Finance Act because the government subsidy was used for other purposes.
An inspection was launched at the request of the National Assembly, looking into the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of National Defense.
The state auditor said the use of government subsidies in the construction of the school building also violated the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that states the government cannot form a financial basis to establish a private school.
A defense ministry official noted on condition of anonymity that the National Assembly approved the 35 billion won government subsidy to build the dormitory because legislators regarded the dormitory as welfare facilities for military personnel, not a building for a private school.
To build the dormitory, the ministry used 30 billion won from the budget allocated to a project to relocate military facilities in Songpa, southeastern Seoul, which also appeared to be in violation of a law regarding military installation projects, the BAI said.
The defense ministry official said, “The BAI issued a disciplinary warning against the defense ministry, urging it to pay keen attention when it needs to change the use of the money.”
The official added that the ministry initially wanted to establish a public school for the children of military personnel, but it had to change the plan to build a private school in a roundabout way through the educational foundation.
“We wanted a school that is eligible to recruit students from all over the country, but a public school can only recruit students living in the area,” the official said. “So, the plan was changed to support an educational foundation to build a private school that can recruit students nationwide.”
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