Public fund operators face lawsuits for withholding information

Agencies like the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. (KDIC), which are in charge of administering public funds, refuse to properly respond to public demands for information, a civic group said Monday. According to the People`s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), the agencies have kept secret or only partially opened to the public 77 percent of all information sought, citing confidentiality policies. By refusing to divulge the information, they betrayed the taxpayers` right to know and ignored the fact that ordinary citizens bear the financial burden of public funds totaling more than 1.5 trillion, the group said. The PSPD said it requested the FSS to unveil information on 35 cases of public-fund operations but the service only compiled in eight instances.

The agency refused to make public or made available only partial details in the remaining 27 cases, citing its confidentiality policy. When called upon to disclose lists of those responsible for mismanagement and punishments handed down against them, the group refused to comply except in cases where the information was already reported by the media. To protest the practice, PSPD plans to file administrative suits against the agencies concerned and wage a civic campaign to boost the transparency of public fund operations. It will seek punishment for those responsible through an Internet site (www.cleanfund.com) that is slated to be operational on Wednesday.

Yonhap