2023-11-02 12:19:15
Suspicions that there was corruption in the process of purchasing group T-shirts for union members by the Kia Motors union under the Korean Metal Workers’ Union of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions were confirmed to be true. Union executives worked with companies to manipulate bids and pocketed hundreds of millions of won in cash as kickbacks. Since the money stolen by executives ultimately came from union dues paid by union members, it is expected that Kia Motors’ union will have difficulty avoiding criticism that there were actual accounting problems.
According to the police on the 2nd, the Gwangmyeong Police Station in Gyeonggi Province arrested Mr. A, a Kia Motors union official, on charges of receiving 143 million won from a supplier while purchasing group T-shirts. The Kia Motors union purchased 28,200 group T-shirts to distribute to union members in September last year. The actual price of the t-shirts was 10,300 won per piece, but Mr. A worked with the company to make it look like it was 15,400 won per piece. Through this, the police believe that the delivery price, which was regarding 290 million won, was inflated to regarding 434 million won, and the difference of regarding 143 million won was collected from the company.
A group T-shirt that the Kia Motors union claimed to have purchased for approximately 16,000 won per piece. Union members tore them up or wrote protest messages on them. /Chosun Ilbo DB
The Kia Motors union’s group T-shirt became controversial among union members even before the police investigation. This is because the T-shirts were purchased with the ‘strike fund’ created by the union executive to be used for strikes, etc. There was criticism, asking, ‘It doesn’t fit the purpose of the fund, so why did we have to spend a lot of money, over 400 million won, to buy group T-shirts?’ The union’s dispute fund is created by collecting union dues paid by union members.
When the T-shirts were distributed, union members collectively protested, saying, “The quality is too poor.” Some union members protested by writing on their T-shirts, “Did you pay for trash?” “Is this worth 16,000 won?” and “Put your dog on it.” There were even union members who tore their T-shirts with scissors or knives. The material was made of 86% nylon, which is cheaper than cotton, and 14% synthetic polyurethane, and the manufacturer’s label was cut off, further increasing the controversy. In relation to this controversy, some union representatives even came forward and demanded, ‘Isn’t the executive misappropriating money?’ and ‘Disclose all related data,’ but the executive said, ‘There is no problem,’ and the two sides clashed head-on. There was also a demand to undergo an external accounting audit, saying, ‘The union’s accounting and business details are unclear.’
The police investigation revealed that the public bidding itself was fake. Mr. A decided in advance which company would deliver the product and then had the two companies participate in a public bidding process. One company was asked to use a higher price, and the bidding was manipulated so that the company that paid a relatively lower price was selected. The selected company was a company that normally supplied work clothes to the Kia Motors factory. This company deposited 143 million won, the difference between the fake bid price and the actual price, into the accounts of other union members, and this money was later withdrawn in cash and delivered to Mr. A. The police believe that the company and person A borrowed other people’s accounts to avoid tracking.
The police have also booked 11 people, including the supplier, the supplier’s representative and associates, and the union member who lent the account to Mr. A, on charges of obstruction of bidding and violation of the Real Name Financial Act. A police official said, “We were surprised that the union’s fund operation was less transparent than expected,” and added, “We plan to forward the case to the prosecution as soon as the investigation is completed.”
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