The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced on September 10 that it has identified 12 local governments among the 226 basic local governments nationwide that are at risk of poor management and accounting of subsidies. These include Wonju, Tongyeong, Jeonju, Sunchang, Jincheon, Hwaseong, Jindo, Mokpo, Gumi, Pohang, Yangsan, and Cheonan. The commission conducted a survey of the entire process of subsidy allocation, disbursement, execution, accounting, and follow-up management for sports-related subsidy projects undertaken by these local governments over the past three years (2022-2024).
The investigation revealed that local governments have been poorly managing subsidy projects aimed at increasing community participation in sports and promoting local sports by selecting local sports councils and specific sports organizations as subsidy recipients. During the last three years, 226 local governments initiated 31,578 sports-related subsidy projects, with a total of approximately 1.53 trillion won in subsidies disbursed.
Subsidies for hosting sports events are provided to help local sports councils and other subsidy recipients cover necessary costs. According to subsidy regulations, applicants must reflect any expected revenue from the project in their business plans when applying for subsidies.
The commission's investigation found that from 2022 to 2024, local sports organizations hosting various competitions failed to report revenue from participant fees and other sources from the application stage through to the final accounting stage, indicating poor management. The amount of subsidies involved in projects where revenue management was inadequate is confirmed to be at least 20 billion won. This revenue includes participant fees, admission fees, sponsorships, and donations.
During the survey, most sports councils did not submit income and expenditure details or supporting documents related to revenue from subsidy projects, leading the investigation to rely on only the limited revenue expenditure records submitted. It is estimated that the scale of unreported accounting is even larger than what was revealed in this investigation.
In response, the Anti-Corruption Commission has recommended that the relevant local governments take corrective actions, including recovering funds, and will refer cases requiring criminal prosecution for embezzlement or breach of trust to law enforcement. Additionally, the commission plans to notify relevant departments to develop institutional improvements to address confusion and misconduct arising from insufficient regulations on revenue management for subsidy projects.
Jung Il-yeon, chair of the Anti-Corruption Commission, stated, "To ensure that taxpayers' money is not wasted and is used correctly to expand and promote local sports, the scale of revenue from local sports subsidy projects must be transparently calculated, and appropriate subsidies must be allocated and meticulously managed." He emphasized that the commission will continue to monitor the proper use of various subsidies in projects funded by public finances.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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