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Photo: Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has been engulfed in internal turmoil following allegations of misconduct linked to the official events of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held in Gyeongju last October, according to JoongAng Ilbo.
The controversy centers on alleged irregularities involving staff members from the organizing team responsible for the event. As a statutory private economic organization, KCCI is required under Korean law to report its business plans and budget execution to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Funded by membership fees from approximately 200,000 companies, the organization is now facing heightened scrutiny.
According to JoongAng Ilbo, a team leader from the APEC CEO Summit Task Force was placed on standby on the 19th and is currently undergoing an internal audit. The official is suspected of attempting to embezzle funds by requesting a hotel to charge several million won more than the actual accommodation cost of 45 million won and asking that the difference be transferred to a personal account. The attempt was reportedly uncovered through an external tip-off.
Although the embezzlement was not completed, attempted embezzlement is also subject to criminal punishment under Article 359 of Korea’s Criminal Act. KCCI stated that “as the settlement process for the event has not yet been completed, audit results are expected to be available early next year.”
Internal concerns have also been raised regarding the selection of the event management agency. The agency that oversaw the APEC Summit reportedly billed approximately 12.8 billion won—about 10 billion won more than its original bid of 2.85 billion won—according to JoongAng Ilbo.
Due to the significant cost overruns, KCCI has yet to finalize the event’s financial settlement more than two months after its conclusion. A KCCI official was quoted as saying that “in public procurement audits, it is common for contractors to submit low bids and later inflate costs by expanding project scopes,” adding that a thorough investigation is needed to determine whether costs were exaggerated or whether any task force members tolerated or benefited from such practices.
The APEC CEO Summit, held in Gyeongju from October 28 for four days, is the largest economic forum in the Asia-Pacific region. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who also serves as KCCI chairman, presided over the summit. Business leaders including Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo attended, along with approximately 1,700 global executives such as NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang. Former U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung also participated as speakers.
JoongAng Ilbo also reported that KCCI employees have raised concerns about possible systemic misconduct through the anonymous workplace community Blind. Attention has focused on a senior executive leading the summit task force, who had previously been disciplined in 2022 for involvement in a separate case related to unpaid expenses during a special entry program for Vietnam.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, KCCI worked with the government to facilitate special entry for around 4,000 businesspeople and expatriates when Vietnam closed its borders. However, the contracted agency allegedly failed to pay a local Vietnamese travel company. The issue surfaced publicly in 2022 through the Korea Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (KORCHAM Vietnam), which called for a full investigation into the payment structure and contractor selection process.
KCCI later determined that there were serious problems in the handling of delayed payments and disciplined the responsible official with a pay cut, though the individual retained their position. Notably, the same agency—under a different name and management—was again involved in organizing the recent APEC CEO Summit, according to JoongAng Ilbo.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
