Allegations include preferential hiring, unlicensed classes and salary splitting

PPP lawmaker says public 'cannot accept' appointment as justice minister

People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo raises allegations at the National Assembly press center Sunday about preferential treatment received by the family of Kim Seung-won, nominee for justice minister, in connection with the Korea Child Development Social Cooperative. [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo raises allegations at the National Assembly press center Sunday about preferential treatment received by the family of Kim Seung-won, nominee for justice minister, in connection with the Korea Child Development Social Cooperative. [Yonhap]

Allegations have emerged that a welfare cooperative run by the spouse of Kim Seung-won, nominee for justice minister, hired the couple's two children and paid them hundreds of millions of won in wages.

People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo held a press conference at the National Assembly press center Sunday, saying the case exposed how so-called family cooperatives exploit public funds. "Social cooperatives of the Park Won-soon variety have long been accused of siphoning off taxpayer money, and this family cooperative case involving Kim Seung-won has laid bare the reality," Joo said.

According to Joo, Kim's son (26) and daughter (22) are employed at the Korea Child Development Social Cooperative, a developmental disability care service provider headed by their mother. The cooperative, formed by families of children with developmental disabilities, has operated a family support center under the name "A School" since September 2019.

Joo said the cooperative received zero government funding when it was established in Yongin. "Once Kim was elected to the National Assembly, the cooperative relocated in January 2022 to Suwon in Gyeonggi Province, his own constituency, and Suwon designated it as an activity service provider for people with developmental disabilities within just three months," he said.

"The moment it received that designation, government voucher revenue that had been zero jumped to 880 million won ($647,000) over four years," Joo said, adding that Kim's spouse and two children had collectively drawn more than 330 million won in salaries from the cooperative.

Kim's camp said the son and daughter had majored in occupational therapy and health education, respectively, and had worked part-time during a period of frequent staff turnover at the organization.

Joo rebuffed that explanation, saying the nominee's camp claimed the eldest son handled occupational therapy and special education, but the publicly posted job listing had described his position as "human resources officer." "What expertise or role justifies the entire family enriching themselves on taxpayer money?" he said.

He added that Kim's spouse and eldest son had conducted the interview that led to the younger daughter's hiring. "If the mother is the director and the brother is the HR officer and the two of them conduct the interview together, can that be called fair hiring?" Joo said.

Joo said the spouse and two children had received nearly 70 million won in combined salaries through August this year alone. "This is all taxpayer money. Given the existing controversy over lobbying at the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, if the family is also drawing Ministry of Health and Welfare funds, the public will not be able to accept Kim's appointment as justice minister," he said.

Fellow PPP lawmaker Kim Min-jeon separately raised concerns that the cooperative had been using the word "school" in its name without official government authorization.

In a Facebook post Sunday, Kim Min-jeon said the Elementary and Secondary Education Act restricts use of the term "school" to government-licensed institutions, and only licensed schools or alternative education institutions registered with education offices may recruit students and hold classes from morning to evening. "Yet this organization, which is neither a licensed school nor a registered alternative education institution, has been conducting full-day classes for elementary, middle and high school students with developmental disabilities — illegally," she wrote. "Kim's wife, son and daughter have together received more than 300 million won from this cooperative."

Another PPP lawmaker, Kim Tae-gyu, alleged that the cooperative had split salary payments into employment income and business income to improperly reduce social insurance contributions. He estimated that the cooperative and Kim's spouse together saved more than 13 million won in social insurance premiums over five years through this method, calling it a textbook case of salary-splitting to evade insurance obligations.

Kim Tae-gyu added that when employment and business income are combined, the spouse's effective salary appears to have nearly tripled over five years, and said he plans to call on the National Health Insurance Service to conduct an on-site investigation of the cooperative.


an@heraldcorp.com