BAI ferrets out 744 corrupt officials in 2000

The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) discovered a total of 744 public servants involved in various kinds of corrupt practices last year and demanded related agencies to take punitive actions against them. The corrupt officials were found in a total of 6,916 illegal and improper cases, according to the BAI, which conducted an audit of government agencies, subordinate organizations and local autonomous bodies.

BAI announced the results of its audit in a report released Tuesday. Of the 744 corrupt officials, 423, including 10 officials above the third-grade level, will face disciplinary measures and 256 will be transferred to other posts. The BAI filed complaints with law enforcement authorities against the remaining 65 offenders with the intention of taking criminal action, a spokesman said.

BAI also had related government agencies recover the budget that was misused. A total of 684.6 billion won in budget funds was recovered, the spokesman added.

Boo Hyung-Kwon bookum90@donga.com