The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission reported on the 17th that it had uncovered a public official who embezzled 4 billion won by assigning cultural heritage-related work to a company registered under their spouse's name. The commission has referred this public official to the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office on charges of breach of trust.
According to the commission, a person identified as A worked for over 20 years at a cultural foundation under the local government. In November 2020, A was assigned a project contract worth 200 million won related to cultural heritage. At that time, archaeological remains were discovered in a redevelopment area in Seoul (80㎡), and the redevelopment company entrusted the excavation to B, the representative of an archaeological excavation company. B awarded work to the cultural foundation through A, whom he knew personally.
Subsequently, additional archaeological remains were found in the redevelopment area. The redevelopment company assigned A an additional service contract worth 4 billion won for the entire project area (3,000㎡) through B. A became aware of this fact through B. A established a company under their spouse's name and entered into a subcontract with the redevelopment company.
However, it was revealed that the company under A's spouse was an unqualified entity not registered as a cultural heritage excavation institution. Furthermore, just 10 days after A established the company under their spouse's name, they entered into a subcontract, and the company's location was in a shared office, indicating that actual operations were not being conducted, according to the commission. Lee Myung-soon, the vice chairman of the commission's anti-corruption department, noted, "This is a case where public status and information obtained through work were used to gain improper benefits."