YTN reporters have secured union account details that appear to be decisive evidence in relation to the alleged embezzlement of the chairman of the National Construction Industry Union of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, which has been under police investigation since last year.
It was confirmed that more than 600 million won had been withdrawn from the bankbook in the past three years alone, including withdrawing 1 million won several times on the same day.
This is an exclusive report by reporter Park Ki-wan.
[기자]
This is the details of deposits and withdrawals from the union fee account of the Construction Industry Union Headquarters of the Korea Federation of Trade Unions secured by YTN.
Mainly, 1 million won at a time and as little as 200,000 won were withdrawn several times on the same day.
In line with the one-time withdrawal limit of 1 million won, at most 5 million won a day was withdrawn, but almost the same withdrawal record was repeated for regarding three years.
The record of repeated cash withdrawals remains in the account records used for union members’ severance pay and welfare expenses.
Jin Byung-jun, who has been the chairman of the construction industry union for 15 years, was the only one who had a debit card that might be withdrawn.
This is the reason why some are criticized for having stolen more than 300 million won in cash for 3 years and 9 months.
Not only this.
There were also suspicions that Chairman Jin used the accounts of branches and subdivisions under the Construction Industry Union at his own will.
It is said that cash withdrawals were also made from the accounts where construction companies collected money paid in the name of union members’ wages.
[육길수 / 한국노총 전국건설산업노조 사무처장 : 충청지부에 있는 근로시간 면제자 급여 통장이 4억에서 5억 있어야 할 통장에서 돈이 전부 빠져나갔고…. (진 위원장은) 알아봤자 좋을 게 없다. 내가 잘 알아서 한다, 이런 식이었죠.]
If you add up to 330 million won from each branch and division, the total amount of alleged embezzlement is over 630 million won.
Chairman Jin acknowledged the fact of the withdrawal, but it is known that most of the money has been returned to the employees, so it is known that there is no problem.
However, if the charge of embezzlement is applied in business, aggravated punishment is unavoidable because the profits exceed 500 million won.
In particular, returning the stolen money can be problematic enough, especially if the crime has already been committed.
[장희진 / 지음법률사무소 변호사 : 횡령이 성립한 이후에 금전을 반환했다고 하더라도 이미 성립된 범죄에는 영향이 없고 다만 피해를 복구한 부분에서는 나중에 감형 요소로 작용할 수 있을 것 같습니다.]
The police, who received a complaint once morest Chairman Jin in July of last year, are calling people around to check where the money withdrawn has gone.
This is YTN Park Ki-wan.
[앵커]
Jin Byung-jun, chairman of the Construction Industry Union of the Confederation of Trade Unions, who withdrew 600 million won from the union account for three years, is suspected of using corporate cards and business promotion expenses privately.
When YTN reporters looked at the usage history, it was confirmed that they used close to 400 million won at an amusement park or hotel on the weekend.
Reporter Lee Jun-yeop then reports exclusively.
[기자]
Jin Byung-joon, chairman of the National Construction Industry Union of the Korea Federation of Trade Unions, was accused of embezzling 600 million won in union fees.
YTN reporters visited the office to hear the position, but Chairman Jin quickly left the seat.
[진병준 / 한국노총 전국건설산업노조위원장 : (고발된 것 때문에 말씀 좀 여쭤보려고 하거든요) 아니 저 지금 다른 일정 있어서. 찍지 마십시오.]
Chairman Jin walked around the buildings of the Korean Federation of Trade Unions to avoid reporters, but did not respond to the allegations.
“(The blood and sweat of the members is young money. You have to tell me where it was used.) ….”
Eventually, I ran back into the union office, locked the door and evaded the question.
After a while, he gave an explanation over the phone saying that he was not trying to avoid the interview.
[진병준 / 한국노총 전국건설산업노조위원장 : 집회하거나 뭐 여러 군데 할 때 보면, 좀 (현금이) 사용되는 부분이 있습니다. 조합원들이 애경사 있을 것 아닙니까. 위원장이 가는 데 통장 입금해서 그냥 가진 않잖아요.]
The allegations of embezzlement once morest Chairman Jin were not limited to union fees.
Suspicious traces were also revealed in the records of Chairman Jin’s corporate card use secured by YTN.
It was confirmed that Chairman Jin used the corporate card in various places, such as Changwon and Anseong, in addition to the Cheonan area where he lived or Seoul where the union headquarters is located.
Chairman Jin continued to use the corporate card even on weekends when he did not go to work.
I paid for marts, amusement parks, and even hotels with corporate cards one following another.
In this way, the cost of corporate cards used for non-business hours and non-business-related places amounted to KRW 140 million.
[김대근 / 한국 형사·법무정책연구원 법무정책연구실장 : (노조) 정관에조차 없다 할지라도 그것은 자기가 보관하고 있는 타인 소유의 재물이기 때문에 임의로 사용하게 되면 횡령죄가 성립할 수 있습니다.]
Chairman Jin also requested that the money from the union account be sent directly to him.
About 250 million won of money with clearly defined uses, such as business promotion expenses, confidentiality expenses, and public service expenses, flowed out like this.
Comparing it with corporate card records, it was revealed that they requested a remittance when using them in the wrong place that is not related to work.
The employees only later looked into the chairman’s bank account and realized that he had won the award.
[표순동 / 전 한국노총 전국건설산업노조 조직실장 : 참 답답했죠. 한 조직의 수장이라 그러면 해야 할 게 있고 안 해야 할 게 있거든요. 근데 저희 CMS 계좌가 어떤 거냐면 조합비란 말이에요. 오로지 100% 조합비에요.]
The anti-corruption investigation team of the Chungnam Police Agency plans to call Chairman Jin soon to investigate and decide whether to apply for an arrest warrant.
This is YTN Lee Jun-yeop.
YTN Park Ki-wan (parkkw0616@ytn.co.kr)
YTN Junyeop Lee (leejy@ytn.co.kr)
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