Police have referred a former head of the Woori Bank (000030) labor union, identified as A, and a former union official, identified as B, to prosecutors on charges of occupational embezzlement over an alleged "payback" scheme in which they overpaid for event costs and received cash in return.
Seoul's Namdaemun Police Station referred A and B to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on Sept. 29 on charges of occupational embezzlement without detention, according to police on the 1st. In April last year, Woori Bank union officials including one identified as C filed a criminal complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency against five people, including A, who were in the union's general affairs approval line, on charges of occupational embezzlement, occupational breach of trust and taking bribes in breach of trust.
The complainants alleged that the five, including A, obtained about 9 million won ($6,400) in financial benefits between 2022 and 2024 by overpaying outside vendors for various in-house events, such as union rallies and midsummer gatherings, and receiving the money back through accounts held in other people's names.
Police concluded that among the five people named in the complaint, A embezzled 9 million won in union funds through the payback scheme. B, who was also listed as a complainant and confessed to the alleged crime, was found by police to have been instructed to carry out the embezzlement of about 3 million won of that amount, and police decided to refer B on a charge of occupational embezzlement. Other allegations, including occupational breach of trust and taking bribes in breach of trust, were not referred to prosecutors due to insufficient evidence.
