Director accused of diverting subsidies paid to Saekdongwon, defrauding financial foundation out of 10 million won

Kim, the director of Saekdongwon, a residential facility for people with severe disabilities, leaves Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Feb. 19 after a warrant review hearing. Kim faces charges including rape and forced sexual acts against female residents with disabilities under the guise of behavioral guidance, in violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes and the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities. [Yonhap]
Kim, the director of Saekdongwon, a residential facility for people with severe disabilities, leaves Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Feb. 19 after a warrant review hearing. Kim faces charges including rape and forced sexual acts against female residents with disabilities under the guise of behavioral guidance, in violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes and the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities. [Yonhap]

By Yang Geun-hyuk, The Herald Business

Prosecutors have filed additional charges against the director of Saekdongwon, a residential facility for people with severe disabilities, who is already standing trial in custody on charges of sexually assaulting residents. The new charges involve the misappropriation of national and local government subsidies.

The Criminal Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office (chief Kim Ho-kyung) indicted the former Saekdongwon director, identified only by his surname Kim, without detention on June 22 on charges of violating the Local Finance Act, embezzlement, violating the Subsidy Management Act, and fraud.

Kim allegedly colluded with a contractor in June 2019 to receive back 3 million won ($1,950) from a government subsidy earmarked for facility improvement work, then used the funds for personal purposes — charges that fall under the Local Finance Act and embezzlement statutes. In June 2020, he is also accused of transferring 500,000 won from national and local operating subsidies to an acquaintance for personal use, in violation of the Subsidy Management Act, the Local Finance Act, and embezzlement statutes.

Prosecutors determined that Kim continued to misuse funds after that. In October 2020, he allegedly received back 3 million won from dormitory fees and corporate transfer funds and used them for personal purposes. In June 2022, he is accused of using corporate transfer funds to pay for a grill and a large tent — worth approximately 500,000 won — installed at a building he personally owned, in violation of embezzlement statutes.

Kim also faces a fraud charge for applying for a donation grant from Financial Foundation A in November 2020 and receiving 10 million won, even though the construction project in question was to be funded through a separate source.

Police applied these charges and referred the case to prosecutors in mid-May. Prosecutors then conducted their own supplementary investigation — questioning Kim, the contractor, and Saekdongwon staff, and reviewing cost estimates and expenditure records submitted at the time of the donation application — before indicting Kim just before the statute of limitations expired.

Earlier, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office's Women and Children Crimes Investigation Division 1 (chief Jeong Hui-seon) indicted Kim while in custody on March 19 on charges including aggravated rape under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes, rape of a person with disabilities under protective care, and violations of the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities. Kim is currently standing trial in the first instance on charges of sexually assaulting three women with disabilities while serving as director of Saekdongwon, located in Ganghwa-gun, Incheon.


yg@heraldcorp.com