Gijang County, Busan, to Request BAI Audit of 'Jukdo Sale and Purchase Agreement'

[Financial News] Gijang County Governor Woo Seong-bin plans to request a BAI audit into the 'Jukdo sale and purchase agreement' previously signed between Gijang County and Shinangchon, citing procedural problems he identified in the agreement.
Gijang County Governor Woo Seong-bin made the announcement at a press conference held in the briefing room of the Busan Metropolitan Council on the afternoon of the 7th.
Woo, who heads Gijang County's Task Force for a Comprehensive Investigation of Suspected Corruption and Wasteful Projects, identified the failure to directly confirm the original owner's intention to sell as the fundamental problem with the agreement.
Woo also raised concerns that the letter of intent to sell signed in March 2023, which marked the beginning of the Jukdo sale and purchase agreement, was submitted under the name of the CEO of Shinangchon Foods rather than the original owner. He argued that there was also no direct meeting with the original owner, nor any confirmation of the owner's intention to sell by telephone, video call or other remote means before the sale and purchase agreement was signed.
Woo further claimed that he suspected the original owner of Jukdo was in an 'unavoidable situation' that prevented the owner from expressing an intention to sell, or that the owner might be in a situation requiring confirmation of whether the person was alive. Gijang County said it also plans to file a missing-person report concerning Shinangchon's second leader.
Woo emphasized, "We are now at a point where we cannot postpone a 'special measure' to ensure the stable management of taxpayers' money invested in the Jukdo sale and purchase agreement and national funds that will be invested later. Through a thorough investigation into the facts of this matter, I will clearly identify the problems in the contract process and ensure that not a single penny of taxpayers' money is wasted."
[email protected] Byun Ok-hwan Reporter