The former secretary-general of Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association, accused of improperly using donations from the public and committing hiring irregularities, has been indicted. It comes 2 years and 5 months after the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission asked prosecutors to investigate.
According to legal sources, the Seoul Western District Prosecutors Office indicted former Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association Secretary-General Kim Jeong-hee on the 22nd on charges including breach of trust in the course of duty and obstruction of business.
The Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association is a statutory disaster relief agency that, when disasters such as wildfires or floods occur, raises donations and delivers relief supplies and financial aid to victims.
In Nov. 2023, the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) asked prosecutors to investigate, saying it had found indications that the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association entered into improper contracts funded by public donations and misused corporate credit cards.
At the time, the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) identified about 40 suspected cases of improper contracts at the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association, totaling about 2 billion won. It also estimated roughly 1,400 instances of abnormal corporate card spending, amounting to about 300 million won.
The Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) determined that in 24 of 33 hires (77%) at the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association, there were issues such as violations of fair hiring procedures.