Former South Jeolla Province Governor Park Joon-yung has been accused of a breach of trust in causing financial losses to the provincial government by holding the Formula One (F1) Korean Grand Prix.
The civic group, "Bright Future Made by Citizens," filed a complaint Tuesday with the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, targeting Park and 10 other people on the organizing committee and in provincial government who were in charge of hosting the racing championship.
The complaint comes after the province saw its deficit rise by 190 billion won ($175 million) between the first event being held in 2010 and the last time it was hosted in 2013. The province did not host the championship in 2014 due to a budget shortage, and will not this year either.
"In 2011, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) pointed out the improper process of the event hosting and its budget use," the group said in the complaint.
"Another report by civic groups and professors last year showed that it was impossible from the beginning for the organizers to produce profits from the event, and that the organizers set a much too high ratio for public investment for the championship, eventually resulting in financial trouble for the province," it added.
The group also said that M Bridge Holdings, the promoter of the Korean F1, inflicted financial damage to the provincial government by inviting improper investors when setting up a company to run the championship. It also changed contracts with the government and revised the ownership structure.
"M Bridge Holdings and the provincial government agreed that the latter would take full responsibility for problems about sanction fee payments and budget management for the event. There was no reasonable reason for such an unfair contract," it said.
"The F1 organizers failed to keep their official duty to abide by legal procedures and try not to cause financial damage. They ignored related central government organizations' advice and pushed ahead with the project, causing huge losses. So they should be held accountable."
The financial feasibility of the racing event has long been under suspicion.
A BAI report in 2011 expected the event to cause a 1.1 trillion won accumulated deficit if held annually through 2016. It advised the provincial government to reconsider the project.
In 2013, the National Assembly Budget Office also pointed out the economic infeasibility, saying organizers signed the contract under unfavorable conditions without scrutiny on how to secure funds for the event.
It said they exaggerated the event's economic effects and took groundless presumptions to draw up such effects, presuming the ratio of foreigners among the total audience to be 25 to 31 percent without clear grounds.
According to the office, the provincial government signed the contract to host the championship without the central government's approval, saying it would finance the event with private sector investment. But it failed to attract enough private investment and later sought the central government's financial support, forcing the latter to spend 100 billion won.
Korean Language
"무리한 F1추진"…시민단체 박준영 前전남지사등 고발
시민이 만드는 밝은 세상, 업무상 배임 혐의로 검찰에 고발장
시민단체가 막대한 손실을 남긴 국제 자동차 경주대회 포뮬러 원(F1)을 개최한 주요 정책 책임자들을 고발했다.
시민단체 '시민이 만드는 밝은 세상'(밝은 세상)은 26일 박준영 전 전남지사(당시 F1 대회 조직위원장), 윤진보 전 F1 대회 지원본부장, 이근경 전 전남도 정무부지사 등 대회지원본부와 조직위 관계자 10명가량을 업무상 배임 혐의로 광주지검에 고발했다.
밝은 세상은 '2010년 첫 대회 후 2013년까지 운영비용에서만 모두 1천900여억원의 적자가 누적됐다'며 'F1 결과 보고서에 따르면 수익 창출이 불가능하고 공공 투자비율을 지나치게 높게 산정해 무리하게 추진하는 과정에서 재정손실을 초래한 추진 주체들에 대한 법적 책임 추궁이 필요하다'고 밝혔다.
밝은 세상은 고발장에서 엠브릿지 홀딩스(MBH)의 대회 운영법인 설립 시 부적절한 투자자 모집, 전남도와의 협정, 운영법인 설립협약, 지분구조 개편, 주주간 협약 변경 등으로 전남도에 지속적으로 손해를 끼쳤다고 고발장에서 주장했다.
개최권료 납입, 사업추진 재정 관리 등에서 전남도가 전적인 책임을 지도록 한 과정도 이해하기 어렵다고 밝은 세상은 평가했다.
밝은 세상은 'F1을 추진한 주체들은 법령에 정한 절차를 지키고 재산상 손해가 가지 않도록 주의해야 할 의무를 위반해 정부 부처의 판단도 무시한 채 무리하게 사업을 추진했다'며 '이에 따라 손실을 끼친 만큼 업무상 배임 혐의에 대한 책임을 물어야 한다'고 검찰에 요청했다.
F1 코리아 그랑프리는 2010~2013년 전남 영암의 코리아 인터내셔널 서킷(KIC)에서 매년 열렸으나 적자 누적 등으로 지난해부터 열리지 않고 있다. (연합뉴스)