Audit and Inspection Board Requests Investigation of Yongin Mayor Kim Hak-kyou on Bribery Suspicions

The Board of Audit and Inspection (감사원) has requested prosecution of Yongin Mayor Kim Hak-kyou on suspicion of receiving bribes, it was confirmed belatedly.

The Board of Audit and Inspection announced on the 7th that following a routine inspection for public sector misconduct in October last year, bribery suspicions involving Mayor Kim were detected, and the Board requested an investigation from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office on January 20 this year.

According to the Board of Audit and Inspection, Mayor Kim borrowed 1 billion won from real estate developer A in September 2009, before his election as Yongin mayor, using his house as collateral. As Mayor Kim failed to continuously repay the principal and interest, ownership of the house was transferred to A in April 2010.

Shortly after becoming Yongin mayor in July 2010, Mayor Kim converted the ownership of the house into a secured transaction arrangement with A, conditioned on debt repayment, and obtained a bank loan of 825 million won under the name of his secretary, B, using the house as collateral.

Mayor Kim repaid 800 million won of the private loan principal using the bank loan, but did not repay the remaining 200 million won in principal and monthly private loan interest of 5.2 million won.

Instead, Mayor Kim had A bear approximately 4 million won in monthly interest on the bank loan under the secretary's name, the Board of Audit and Inspection pointed out.

From March 2011 to October 2013, when the Board of Audit and Inspection conducted its audit, the unpaid private loan interest was 197 million won, and the bank loan interest paid on behalf of A was 130 million won.

The Board of Audit and Inspection determined the combined amount of 327 million won to be bribery received by Mayor Kim. The Board concluded there was a quid pro quo element, as the timing when A's payment of bank loan interest under the secretary's name began coincided with the period when the development permit for land owned by A in Cheoin-gu, Yongin was extended.

A had received a development permit on the condition of installing a retail shop on the land but was caught by the district office renting the land to a scrap metal dealer. However, according to the Board of Audit and Inspection, Secretary B, who works for Mayor Kim, pressured the district office to extend the development permit period, and it was from that point that A began paying the bank loan interest on behalf of others.

Additionally, the Board of Audit and Inspection requested an investigation from the prosecution regarding Mayor Kim's second son on suspicion of receiving 20 million won in cash and entertainment valued at 10 million won from real estate developers in exchange for obtaining government-contracted projects.