Thirty local government officials who committed misconduct—including assaulting and abusing sanitation workers in what was called a "martial law game" and receiving 20 million won from a construction contractor—have been caught in a Ministry of the Interior and Safety inspection.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) announced Monday the results of its "2025 Special Inspection of Local Government Passive Administration and Public Service Discipline," conducted over four weeks from Nov. 10 to Dec. 5 last year. The inspection led to requests for heavy disciplinary and other measures against 30 officials, and a total of 126.87 million won was recovered.
The most controversial case involved workplace abuse by an official surnamed A, a Level 7 driver in his 40s at the Yangyang County Office in Gangwon Province. From July to November last year, A subjected three sanitation workers in their 20s under his supervision to continued coercion, assault, threats and insults. He parked garbage collection vehicles far away and made them walk, or drove off before they could board so they had to chase after the vehicle. He threw lit cigarette butts, kicked the chest of a victim who was changing clothes, and fired a BB gun at them.
A forced the victims to buy stocks he had purchased, and when the share price did not rise to the level he wanted, he declared "martial law is imposed" and beat them with a blanket over their heads. Citing a reason that "only red underwear must be worn to raise the stock price," he checked whether the victims were wearing such underwear, and when they did not comply, he continued with assaults along with insulting remarks including informal speech and profanity.
The case came to light through media reports in November last year, and the fallout grew after the Presidential Office ordered an audit and investigation. A was subjected to dismissal, the most severe measure, and is standing trial on charges of workplace harassment including habitual assault. The MOIS requested a light disciplinary measure and a reprimand for a team leader-level official who failed to take swift action such as separating the perpetrator or protecting the victims even after becoming aware of the case, and requested an institutional warning for the Yangyang County Office.
Multiple cases of receiving money and valuables from parties related to their duties were also confirmed. An official surnamed B at a local government business office received a box containing 20 million won in cash from the head of a company that had signed a construction contract worth 5.2 billion won. B also had monetary dealings with four other duty-related parties but did not report them to the county governor. An official surnamed C at the same business office was found to have received 1 million won in cash from a duty-related party, though the party in question claims to have actually paid 2 million won. The MOIS requested heavy disciplinary measures and an investigation referral for both individuals.
Another official surnamed D at a branch office played golf with three duty-related parties, including a company head, and received 317,500 won in golf fees and caddie fees. An official surnamed E at the same branch office also received 614,000 won in golf fees on three occasions from a duty-related party.
In addition, a light disciplinary measure was requested for an official surnamed F, who inflated dredging volume in a 6.25 billion won project to receive an additional 163 million won, and improperly changed the design to falsely claim 225 million won.
