Jeju Province Deploys Integrity Inspection Team Over Alleged Misconduct at Sports Council; Considers Special Audit and Referral for Investigation

【Financial News Jeju=Reporter Yong-bok Jeong】 Jeju Special Self-Governing Province will deploy its Jeju Integrity Inspection Team to investigate allegations that the Jeju Sports Council improperly used official operating expenses and meal allowances for employees working overtime. If the fact-finding process uncovers illegal or improper conduct, the province will request a special audit by the Jeju Audit Committee and may refer the matter to investigative authorities if necessary.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on the 3rd, the province will begin an inspection to establish the facts behind allegations involving the use of official operating expenses and overtime meal allowances by employees at the Jeju Sports Council.
Police are also reportedly conducting a preliminary investigation into the matter. Jeju Special Self-Governing Province will monitor the police’s findings while separately reviewing, from an administrative standpoint, whether the subsidies and accounting funds were properly handled.
The Jeju Integrity Inspection Team will conduct the review on the orders of Jeju Governor Wi Seong-gon.
The key issue is determining whether provincial subsidies, which are public funds, were used for their approved purposes and in accordance with accounting regulations. The review will cover official operating expenses and overtime meal allowances, as well as supporting documents, the spending process, internal approvals, and the overall appropriateness of the accounting procedures.
If problems are confirmed, the response will escalate in stages. Should the province’s own review identify illegal or improper conduct, it plans to request a special audit by the independent Jeju Audit Committee. If circumstances suggesting criminal charges emerge, the province may also separately refer the matter to investigative authorities.
The inspection will not be limited to reviewing individual expenditures by the Jeju Sports Council.
It will also examine how Jeju Special Self-Governing Province managed the subsidies provided to the council and whether it properly handled settlement procedures, guidance, and oversight after the funds were spent. The review will cover the administration’s management responsibilities from the allocation of subsidies through their implementation and subsequent management, not just the execution stage of the subsidized projects.
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province views the matter as directly linked to public trust in the accounting of sports organizations. Although sports organizations are private entities with legal autonomy, a substantial portion of their project and operating expenses is funded by local taxes and other public resources. The province therefore considers accounting transparency and responsibility for subsidy spending to be separate issues from organizational autonomy.
The province will also strengthen preventive measures. It plans to link the results of subsidy spending reviews to evaluations of sports and affiliated organizations under the Jeju Sports Council and the Jeju Sports Association for the Disabled, reflecting the quality of their accounting management in those assessments.
Integrity training will be strengthened for officials at each level, including the chairperson and secretary-general, while regular training on subsidies, contracts, and accounting will be provided to working-level staff. The focus is on creating a system that prevents improper spending in the field, rather than simply detecting problems after they occur.
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province will also expand on-site communication to identify in advance the operational difficulties and accounting management issues faced by sports and affiliated organizations.
The timing is also sensitive. Jeju will host the 46th National Sports Festival for the Disabled for the first time from the 11th to the 16th, followed by the 107th National Sports Festival from October 16 to 22. The National Sports Festival is hosted by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) and organized by the Jeju Sports Council, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, and the Jeju Provincial Office of Education.
As Jeju prepares to hold two major national sporting events in succession, allegations surrounding the sports council’s accounting and subsidy management have created an additional task: restoring trust in sports administration alongside preparations for the competitions.
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province says it will respect the autonomy and independence of sports organizations while strengthening the administration’s responsibility for managing budgets funded by residents’ taxes.
The key question is whether the review will go beyond checking the appropriateness of individual expenditures and determine what control mechanisms operated throughout the process of allocating, spending, and settling provincial subsidies. Future audit and investigation results will also need to establish at which stage problems arose—within the sports council’s internal accounting procedures or in Jeju’s guidance and oversight.
Ryu Il-sun, head of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province’s Culture, Sports and Education Bureau, said, "We are taking seriously the series of allegations of misconduct and improper budget spending recently emerging in the sports sector." Ryu added, "We will carefully establish the facts and take action in accordance with procedures and principles if problems are uncovered."
Ryu continued, "While respecting the autonomy and independence of sports organizations, subsidies and budgets funded by residents’ taxes must be spent transparently and responsibly." Ryu also said, "We will ensure that management and oversight to enhance trust in the sports sector, along with preparations for the National Sports Festival for the Disabled and the National Sports Festival, proceed thoroughly without any gaps."


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