By Kim Bo-eun
Citizens in Yeosu, a port city in South Jeolla Province, are reeling over reports that a low-ranking public official embezzled billions of won in taxpayers’ money.
The local government said Friday the official, identified as 47-year-old Kim, was indicted for embezzling some 7 billion won. The final amount could be even higher as more money is being found to have been taken as the investigation proceeds.
The investigation follows an attempted suicide by Kim and his wife. Kim was found unconscious in his car with his wife on a road in Yeosu on Oct. 8. Burning briquettes and sleeping pills were found inside his car at the time. He was indicted a week later on Oct. 15.
Kim had been in charge of expenditure in the accounting bureau at Yeosu City Hall. He overstated the amount of tax to be paid and pocketed the difference. He also misappropriated funds by inflating expenses for the issuance of gift certificates.
The case prompted Yeosu Mayor Kim Chung-seog to issue a public apology Monday.
“I sincerely apologize as Yeosu mayor for having disappointed citizens and causing concern,” he said.
“We will do the best we can to prevent such an incident from happening again and will take appropriate measures against those responsible.”
Recent investigations showed Kim received the wages of employees who retired or transferred to other workplaces through creating accounts under their names.
He embezzled money for three years but his activities went unnoticed until an on-site audit took place.
Kim discarded related financial documents to try and hide his crimes.
“The Board of Audit and Inspection had requested related documents during the inspection but nobody could find them,” said a city official. “It seems that Kim had done away with the documents that could get him into trouble.”
Kim was found to have bought apartments for relatives and also engaged in private loan activities.
Investigators are focusing on identifying the exact amount that Kim has misappropriated.