Is there any problem with violating the ‘Kim Yong-ran Act’?
In response to the SF Korean Association Acquisition Committee's inquiry, former president Jenny Kwak revealed
Former Korean American Community Center of San Francisco president Jenny Kwak(곽정연) has caused a stir when he revealed that he delivered gifts worth hundreds of thousands of won, such as alcoholic beverages and nutritional supplements, to Kim Sung-gon(김성곤), chairman of the Overseas Koreans Foundation(OKF), and employees to them.
This is because the Overseas Koreans Foundation is a public institution under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Korea and is subject to the Act on the Prohibition of Illegal Solicitation and Receipt of Money and Valuables (also known as the Kim Yong-ran Act), so in the case of gifts, you cannot receive more than 50,000 won.
This fact was revealed when President Jenny Kwak responded in writing to a question from the 32nd SF Korean Association Acquisition Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Acquisition Committee).
On January 19, the committee sent a 20-question written questionnaire to former Presidetn Jenny Kwak, former Chairman William Buck(박병호), and former director Kim Pung-jin(김풍진) regarding unclear matters related to the finances of the Korean American Community Center of San Francisco. President Kwak sent a response to the questionnaire to the Acquisition Committee on January 31, and the committee released the response to local Korean media on Feb. 1.
Among them, former President Jenny Kwak, when asked why the 32nd Acquisiton Committee spent $400 at a duty-free shop in Seoul on October 4, 2022, replied, “It was a gift of alcohol and nutritional supplements that Kim Sung-gon, chairman of the OKF, and his employees gave when they went to Korea.” She continued, “Actually, it was only limited to $400, so I spent more, but I didn’t attach anything else.”
If this answer is true, former President Jenny Kwak would have given a gift worth $400 to Chairman Kim Sung-gon and his staff. If this is converted to the won/dollar exchange rate at that time (Woori Bank applied the base exchange rate of 1,432 won on October 4, 2022), it is at least 560,000 won in Korean currency.
Bay News Lab attempted to contact former President Kwak last year to ask what gifts he had delivered to OKF employees, including Chairman Kim Sung-gon, but the call was not received. Bay News Lab also left a message for the former President, but there was no response.
Former President Jenny Kwak revealed in his response to the Acquisition Committee that gifts of hundreds of thousands of won were made to Kim Sung-gon, chairman of the OKF, and to employees, and a thorough investigation of the quantity and cost of gifts is of significant priority.
The bigger problem is that the timing of the gift that Jenny Kwak revealed to Chairman Kim Sung-gon and the employees of the OKF was just after the Consulate General’s financial audit of the OKF related to the construction of the Korean American Community Center building in San Francisco.
The Consulate General of Republic of Korea in San Francisco, which conducted the financial audit, emphasized that the entire process was “private” and did not disclose who participated in the investigation and what the results were. However, President Kwak, who traveled to South Korea during this period, began to claim that he was innocent, saying that there was nothing wrong with the financial audit. The question still remains; Who told Kwak that there was nothing wrong with the financial audit?
Bay News Lab has already reported several times that various circumstances of alleged embezzlement and breach of trust have surfaced during the construction of the Korean American Community Center building in San Francisco. As confirmed by Bay News Lab, it was confirmed that the Consulate General in San Francisco was also aware of this problem in a questionnaire sent to former President Jenny Kwak during the financial audit.
Under these circumstances, if Chairman Kim Sung-gon and other employees of the OKF received gifts from former President Jenny Kwak and were to cover up various allegations, it would be difficult to avoid moral condemnation from Korean-Americans in Northern California, who wanted all matters to be transparently revealed, regardless of whether the Kim Yong-ran Act was violated. Responsible investigation and action will have to follow to dispel these doubts.
This is because the Overseas Koreans Foundation is a public institution under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Korea and is subject to the Act on the Prohibition of Illegal Solicitation and Receipt of Money and Valuables (also known as the Kim Yong-ran Act), so in the case of gifts, you cannot receive more than 50,000 won.
This fact was revealed when President Jenny Kwak responded in writing to a question from the 32nd SF Korean Association Acquisition Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Acquisition Committee).
On January 19, the committee sent a 20-question written questionnaire to former Presidetn Jenny Kwak, former Chairman William Buck(박병호), and former director Kim Pung-jin(김풍진) regarding unclear matters related to the finances of the Korean American Community Center of San Francisco. President Kwak sent a response to the questionnaire to the Acquisition Committee on January 31, and the committee released the response to local Korean media on Feb. 1.
Among them, former President Jenny Kwak, when asked why the 32nd Acquisiton Committee spent $400 at a duty-free shop in Seoul on October 4, 2022, replied, “It was a gift of alcohol and nutritional supplements that Kim Sung-gon, chairman of the OKF, and his employees gave when they went to Korea.” She continued, “Actually, it was only limited to $400, so I spent more, but I didn’t attach anything else.”
If this answer is true, former President Jenny Kwak would have given a gift worth $400 to Chairman Kim Sung-gon and his staff. If this is converted to the won/dollar exchange rate at that time (Woori Bank applied the base exchange rate of 1,432 won on October 4, 2022), it is at least 560,000 won in Korean currency.
Bay News Lab attempted to contact former President Kwak last year to ask what gifts he had delivered to OKF employees, including Chairman Kim Sung-gon, but the call was not received. Bay News Lab also left a message for the former President, but there was no response.
Former President Jenny Kwak revealed in his response to the Acquisition Committee that gifts of hundreds of thousands of won were made to Kim Sung-gon, chairman of the OKF, and to employees, and a thorough investigation of the quantity and cost of gifts is of significant priority.
The bigger problem is that the timing of the gift that Jenny Kwak revealed to Chairman Kim Sung-gon and the employees of the OKF was just after the Consulate General’s financial audit of the OKF related to the construction of the Korean American Community Center building in San Francisco.
The Consulate General of Republic of Korea in San Francisco, which conducted the financial audit, emphasized that the entire process was “private” and did not disclose who participated in the investigation and what the results were. However, President Kwak, who traveled to South Korea during this period, began to claim that he was innocent, saying that there was nothing wrong with the financial audit. The question still remains; Who told Kwak that there was nothing wrong with the financial audit?
Bay News Lab has already reported several times that various circumstances of alleged embezzlement and breach of trust have surfaced during the construction of the Korean American Community Center building in San Francisco. As confirmed by Bay News Lab, it was confirmed that the Consulate General in San Francisco was also aware of this problem in a questionnaire sent to former President Jenny Kwak during the financial audit.
Under these circumstances, if Chairman Kim Sung-gon and other employees of the OKF received gifts from former President Jenny Kwak and were to cover up various allegations, it would be difficult to avoid moral condemnation from Korean-Americans in Northern California, who wanted all matters to be transparently revealed, regardless of whether the Kim Yong-ran Act was violated. Responsible investigation and action will have to follow to dispel these doubts.
