The former chief executive of the KPGA Tour, who is already standing trial on charges of retaliating against a workplace sexual harassment victim, has been hit with additional criminal complaints alleging breach of trust and embezzlement.
The Korea Professional Golf Association's labor union said Monday it filed a complaint with the Bundang Police Station under the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, accusing the former CEO, identified only as A, of occupational breach of trust — and, in the alternative, occupational embezzlement.
According to the union, A was indicted in April on charges of taking retaliatory action against a workplace sexual harassment victim and is currently on trial at the Seongnam Branch of Suwon District Court.
The latest complaint stems from allegations that A used KPGA Tour corporate funds to cover the legal costs of his personal criminal defense.
The case traces back to 2021, when a workplace sexual harassment incident at the KPGA became public. The alleged perpetrator, a manager identified as B, was accused of groping the earlobes and buttocks of multiple subordinates of the same sex and making sexually harassing remarks. B was convicted and, in November 2024, the Supreme Court finalized a sentence of six months in prison, suspended for two years.
The controversy deepened over the disciplinary measures imposed on the victim after the harassment became public. According to the prosecution's indictment, A is charged with violating the Equal Employment Opportunity Act by subjecting the victim to "unfavorable treatment" — stripping the employee of their position, placing them on standby duty and then imposing a three-month suspension.
Prosecutors determined the case was not a routine internal personnel dispute but rather an act of retaliation by someone exercising executive and personnel authority against an employee who had reported sexual harassment. They indicted A as an individual defendant, not the corporation.
That distinction is at the heart of the new breach of trust and embezzlement complaint. Evidence the union submitted to investigators shows that in November 2022, KPGA Tour entered into a legal services contract with a major domestic law firm to handle A's criminal defense in the "unfavorable treatment" case, paying a retainer of 33 million won ($21,500) from corporate funds.
The complaint, supported by documentary evidence, also details that A — as the company's final approving authority at the time — personally authorized the legal expenditure to defend himself against criminal liability. The spending was processed using company funds without a board resolution, leaving no verifiable record.
Suspicions deepened further when A's legal team changed after his term as CEO ended. The original indictment listed seven attorneys from a major law firm as A's defense counsel, but once his term expired and the case moved to trial, all seven withdrew and a single attorney from a separate firm was newly appointed.
The union said the case "was not one that became a personal matter for A after the fact — from the very first complaint filed with the labor authorities, it was A as an individual, not the corporation, who was named as the subject of the complaint." A legal expert said that "even though this was a case from the outset in which the company's interests and A's personal interests were in direct conflict, if he personally authorized the legal expenditure, the legitimacy of who those funds were truly spent for must be rigorously examined."
The union also cited Supreme Court precedent in its complaint as legal grounds, noting that courts have consistently held that legal fees in civil or criminal cases where the representative is a personal party cannot, as a rule, be paid from corporate funds (Supreme Court 2007Do9679).
The Supreme Court has further clarified through precedent that even if a board or general meeting resolution was obtained at the time or after the fact, that does not eliminate the illegality or criminal liability of having spent company funds on such legal costs (Supreme Court 2006Do1187; Supreme Court 2011Do4677).
A union official said management at the time "sought to evade responsibility by posting distorted accounts of the facts and sending mass text messages to roughly 7,000 KPGA members, rather than uncovering the truth of the harassment and protecting the victim."
The official added that "the perpetrator of the sexual harassment was found guilty by the Supreme Court, and A, who imposed heavy disciplinary measures on the victim, has also been referred to criminal trial," and said "ultimately, the truth comes out no matter how much time passes."
Meanwhile, the KPGA is also embroiled in a separate legal dispute under its new leadership, having dismissed three people — a victim and two witnesses — in a different workplace harassment case. In January, the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission ruled all three dismissals unlawful, but the association has appealed to the National Labor Relations Commission for review.
The association faces mounting criticism as the wrongful dismissal dispute has generated additional costs running into the hundreds of millions of won, covering back-pay obligations, replacement staffing and legal fees. Combined with a controversy over large operating deficits that surfaced at the March general meeting, the rejection of the 2025 financial statements and a resulting special audit, calls for accountability and reform — spanning both the conduct of the previous leadership and the association's current management — are expected to grow louder.
sports@heraldcorp.com
