More than 2 billion won ($1.7 million) of Cheong Wa Dae’s budget spent after former President Park Geun-hye’s suspension from duty is unaccounted for, a local cable channel reported Monday.
According to the cable channel JTBC, the presidential office spent 3.5 billion won of its special activities budget between Dec. 9, when the National Assembly passed the impeachment motion, and March 12 when Park left the presidential office.
Former President Park Geun-hye (Yonhap)
Citing former Presidential Secretary for Administrative Affairs Lee Kwan-jik, the report claimed that Park’s senior aides, including her chief of staff, continued to receive cash from the presidential office after Park’s duties were suspended in December.
According to the report, senior aides received undisclosed amounts and lower level officials were given 300,000 won monthly special activities allowances, the sum of which would leave more than 2 billion won unaccounted for.
Lee claimed Park did not receive any cash from the presidential office after her suspension and that the money was spent by officials under former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-an and chief of staff Han Gwang-ock.
The prime minister’s office, however, denied the allegations, saying that Hwang, who served as the acting president, would have had no authority to access the special activities allowances allocated to the presidential secretariat.
By Choi He-suk (
cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)