Exclusive Suwon City Environmental Bureau Official Served as Registered Director at Environmental Equipment Company for Years

A senior official from the Environmental Bureau of Suwon City has been confirmed to have served as a registered director at an environmental equipment company for an extended period, with records showing he held shares in the firm.

According to Suwon City and others on the 18th, Senior Official A from the Environmental Bureau of Suwon City (environmental services track) has been listed as an internal director in the corporate registry of Company K, an environmental equipment firm, for several years.

According to the corporate registry, Company K was established in December 2008. The company's business purposes include environmental equipment construction projects, landscaping construction projects, water and sewage facility construction projects, mechanical equipment installation projects, and design, manufacture, installation, and sales of related materials. In 2012, design, manufacturing, installation, and sales of renewable energy and power generation equipment were also added to the business purposes.

The period during which Official A is directly confirmed to have been listed as an executive in the corporate registry spans approximately 8 years and 4 months, from December 2011 to March 2020.

After being reelected as director in December 2011, he resigned from the director position in March 2014 and took office as an internal director on the same day. Subsequently, he was reelected as an internal director in March 2017 and left office in March 2020.

The initial appointment is believed to have occurred before December 2011. This is because the registration reason in December 2011 is listed as "reelection" (중임), which means reappointment after term expiration, rather than "taking office" (취임), which indicates the initial appointment. However, the initial appointment date cannot be confirmed solely from the corporate registry currently available on the Supreme Court's Internet Registration System.

Records also show that Official A held shares in Company K.

According to corporate information based on NICE Evaluation & Information, Official A's shareholding ratio in Company K was listed as 43.5%. However, it cannot be confirmed from this information alone whether he currently holds the same shares. Representative Director B's shareholding ratio is listed as 49.0%. Director B is also known to be a former government official from Suwon City Hall.

The Local Public Officials Act and other laws establish standards for public officials' for-profit business activities and concurrent positions.

Article 56 of the Local Public Officials Act stipulates that public officials cannot engage in for-profit business activities outside their official duties and cannot hold concurrent positions without permission from the head of their agency.

Article 10 of the Local Public Officials Code of Conduct specifies provisions related to the prohibition on for-profit business activities, including "becoming an executive such as director at a private enterprise for profit" and "investing in another person's business related to one's duties."

The Ministry of Interior and Safety's "Regulations on the Code of Conduct for Local Public Officials" provides more detailed explanations. It clarifies that directors of private enterprises include both registered and non-registered directors, and that "investment in another person's business related to one's duties" includes the purchase of stocks and bonds related to duties and equity investment in for-profit businesses.

The city confirmed that there was no report regarding concurrent positions or for-profit business activities related to Official A's listing as an executive at Company K. The city also maintains the position that executives of private enterprises cannot hold concurrent positions under law, regardless of whether they are reported.

The city will commence an investigation into Official A while taking measures to strengthen awareness of the Code of Conduct within the civil service.

A city official stated, "Guidance regarding concurrent positions is provided through one or two official notices annually, accessible to all civil servants. We will operate a voluntary disclosure period to allow officials to proactively address any inadvertently omitted concurrent positions, and will strengthen awareness of the Local Public Officials Code of Conduct among all staff members to ensure compliance with the integrity and fairness required of the civil service through thorough oversight."