Moo Han Bae, Chief Executive Officer of the LA Korean Festival Foundation, has been charged by some board members to the California Department of Justice. The accusation is based on Bae’s arbitrary behavior in managing the foundation’s finances and making decisions.
The accusations against Bae, which were made public less than two weeks after celebrating the 50th anniversary of the LA Korean Festival, are expected to cause quite a stir within the foundation.
According to the complaint, three of the festival’s six board members filed a complaint (CT-9) with the California Department of Justice’s Registry of Charitable Trusts on September 18.
According to the complaint, three board members alleged that Bae proceeded to spend the foundation’s money as a relief fund for an emergency cause without discussing it with the board of directors.
Bae ignored the meeting procedures for festival preparations, which should have been based on approval from the board of directors, and forced the board of directors to hold a closed meeting on August 29, 2023.
Bae also intended to implement discriminatory measures to exclude open bids from the selection of festival service companies and to exclude certain ethnic companies from the selection.
In the complaint, the directors also pointed out that Bae illegally donated $60,000 in foundation funds to flood-affected areas on July 19, 2023 to support flood damage without a formal board resolution, saying, “It was wrong to deliver $60,000 in donations to areas affected by the flood in Korea, without a resolution of the board of directors and without keeping the promise to return to the community if profits were made at last year’s festival.”
In addition, the complaint alleges that Bae violated the foundation’s rules by granting board membership to a person who did not pay board initiation fee, and that Bae is ineligible to serve as a board member because he was fined $76,000 in 2015 for providing illegal political contributions when he was chairman of the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles.
In particular, problems with one of the festival’s events, the Korean Parade, were also mentioned. “The Korean Parade, one of the LA Korean Festival Events, has been organized by the Korea Times LA. However, about the “Korea Parade” last year, some Korean media reported criticism that it was a parade that did not meet expectations. All programs including the Korean Parade of the LA Korean Festival are hosted by the LA Korean Festival Foundation. Nevertheless, the financial report on the Korean Parade has never been discussed with the Foundation’s board of directors.”
In the complaint, three directors urged that “Our three directors ask that the LA Korean Festival Foundation, which has been supported and nurtured by our Korean American Community and mainsteam in America, be supervised and audited to keep California’s non-profit organization rules.”
The California Department of Justice notified them of the complaint in an email on September 25 that they will conduct investigations and audits into charitable abuse, and any criminal allegations are referred to local law enforcement or the appropriate county prosecutor’s office.
Director A of the festival foundation explained the background of the complaint, stating, “Bae has been managing the foundation in a selfish and arbitrary manner, all under the guise of organizing a festival for the community. This has led to issues such as non-transparent financial expenditures. Despite these problems, Bae has shown no signs of self-reflection and has even expressed an intention to continue in office for next year’s festival.”
He warned, “If this situation persists, the festival risks becoming a private entity susceptible to individual manipulation.” He further added, “The foundation’s current trajectory is unsustainable and detrimental. Immediate reforms are necessary to ensure that the festival truly serves the community.”
Bae, currently visiting South Korea, said in a phone call with the Korea Daily on October 24 that he had “no prior knowledge” of the accusations.
“I’ve been working hard for a long time to prepare for the festival, and I’m on vacation in Korea. I’m surprised and don’t understand this sort of situation,” he said, expressing his perplexity.
Bae first responded to the allegations in the complaint that he illegally donated $60,000 in foundation funds to support flood victims in South Korea, stating, “Due to the urgency of the situation, everyone except Director Park gave their (verbal) consent, and it was later approved.”
In response to allegations that money was spent without board approval, he said, “The budget was already approved. We just spent slightly less and slightly more in preparation for the event.”
Regarding the return of the net profit of $115,000 from last year’s festival to the community, he commented, “We finalized the settlement at the end of December last year, and we started preparing for the festival in mid-March this year. During that time, office and labor costs were incurred. We were planning to return $58,000 to the community after receiving money from the City of Los Angeles, but we haven’t received it yet. When we do receive it, we will fulfill our promise.”
Additionally, concerning the closed meeting on August 29, 2023, Bae responded, “It’s not arbitrary because we wanted to have one private meeting as we were afraid of creating a bad image if there was an internal schism before the festival.”
On the controversial decision to grant a board membership to a non-payer of the board initiation fee, Bae said, “In 1995, Director Choi Il-soon also paid $20,000 in divided payments, not all at once,” adding, “I did it because there is a precedent. And it is up to the chairman to decide.”
“The three directors (who accused Bae) are doing something very wrong,” Bae asserted, adding, “I will not stand by and watch. I will go back after my vacation and make a formal response. It’s my fault that I reinstated the expelled people (Surname Park and Kim, who accused Bae).”
BY SUAH JANG, JUNHAN PARK [jang.suah@koreadaily.com]
