Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation rapped for lax management of overseas offices – Beragampengetahuan

Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) headquarters in Naju, South Jeolla Province / Courtesy of aT

By Baek Byung-yeul

Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) is being criticized for its lax management of overseas offices. Examples include taking official business trips without the approval of the branch office manager and not having an attendance checking system, according to a lawmaker, Tuesday.

“According to data from aT, the state-run company’s accounting, human resources and administrative practices at the corporation’s overseas offices in Paris, Dubai, Chengdu, Vladivostok, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur had been lax over the past three years,” Rep. An Byung-gil of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) said.

To promote the export of Korean food, aT operates 17 overseas offices in various countries including the U.S., Japan and China. It has 91 employees at its overseas offices, including 37 dispatched employees and 54 local employees, and spends about 13 billion won ($9.6 million) annually to operate those overseas branches.

Kim Chun-jin, CEO of Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, speaks during the National Assembly’s audit session at the National Assembly building in Seoul, Oct. 17, 2022. Newsis

At its Paris office, no supporting documents were submitted for 71 business trips from 2019 to 2022, despite a regulation requiring employees to submit records of their accommodation expenses with their travel orders.

In addition, the Paris office was also cited for arbitrary accounting for 27 revenue events that occurred between March 2019 and August 2022.

In Dubai, 79 of 82 business trips were conducted without the approval of the branch manager from March 2019 to August 2022. The Kuala Lumpur office did not advertise job openings properly, and selected its new employees arbitrarily.

Also, Rep. An said aT’s Chengdu and Vladivostok offices did not have attendance checking systems in place over the past three years. As a result, aT found that there were no records of local employees’
punctuality and attendance.

An aT spokesman said the company is well aware of the issues with its overseas offices and has taken corrective measures.

“Our audit office has uncovered cases of lax management at our overseas offices and we provided this information to Rep. An. The company is aware of the issues and has taken steps to prevent it,” the spokesman said. “After the reports from the audit office, we have corrected our system and the overseas offices have been operated in accordance with the rules.”