Incheon Public Officials' Assets Revealed: Average Wealth Increases to 890 Million Won

[iNews24 Reporter Kim Do-eun]

The Incheon Public Officials Ethics Committee said it will publish the annual asset-change filings for 124 individuals under its jurisdiction in the municipal bulletin on the 26th.

The disclosures cover five heads of public-affiliated organizations and 119 county and district council members.

Under the Public Officials Ethics Act, officials required to register assets must report any changes occurring between January 1 and December 31 by the end of February of the following year. The Ethics Committee must then make those filings public within one month after the reporting period ends.

This year, the average declared assets for the 124 individuals under the Incheon committee’s jurisdiction stood at 890 million KRW (about $667,500). That represents an increase of approximately 60 million KRW (about $45,000) compared with the average those same officials reported last year.

Eighty-two officials, or 66% of the group, reported increases in assets, while 42 officials (34%) reported decreases.

The Government Public Officials Ethics Committee separately published the assets of 54 officials under its authority — including the mayor, county and district heads, first-grade or higher officials, and city council members — in the official gazette.

The average assets for that group totaled 1.37 billion KRW (about $1,027,500), an increase of 33 million KRW (about $24,750) from their previous filings.

The Incheon committee plans to complete its review of the asset changes for all disclosed officials by the end of June.

If the review finds that an official falsely reported assets, committed a serious omission or error, or accumulated assets through improper or illegal means, the committee will pursue measures under relevant laws, including warnings, corrective orders, administrative fines, dismissal, or requests for disciplinary action.

The Incheon city auditor said, “We will support public officials in filing honest asset reports and continue to conduct strict, fair reviews of the declared assets.”