Three board members of the LA Korean Festival Foundation have been removed from the organization after reporting its chairman, Moo Han Bae, to prosecutors and demanding an external audit of the festival’s finances.
During the regular board meeting, which was rescheduled to January 3 at the foundation’s office after the December meeting was cancelled due to internal conflict, the members, both new and old, split into two factions. The division centered on the auditing of the financial statements from the most recent festival and pursuing legal action against the chairman. Two security guards and two officers from the Olympic Police Department were present at the meeting.
On the same day, a motion to expel Yoon Sook Park, Jun-bae Kim, and Il-soon Choi, who filed a complaint against Chairman Bae, was passed by a vote.
Out of the seven directors, including Bae, four voted for the expulsion, excluding the three involved parties.
At the meeting, Bae said, “I’m surprised about the three directors,” and queried the others, “What do you want to do?” One of the new directors moved for expulsion, and after a vote, the other two new directors concurred, leading to the expulsion, as per the chairman.
The three incumbent directors expressed their anger. “How can the unqualified chairman and directors remove us,” they questioned furiously.
“They exposed the foundation to the media, defamed it, and falsely accused me of misappropriation and embezzlement of public funds,” Bae countered.
“The vacancies created by the expelled members will be filled by younger board members from various fields,” Bae added. “I will step down once the new members are in place.”
Controversy arose primarily over the audit of financial statements.
Three current board members, highlighting improper financial audits for the 2022 and 2023 LA Korean Festivals under Bae’s leadership, demanded an external audit, which the chairman opposed citing cost concerns.
“I looked into it; it’s a huge expense, between $30,000 to $50,000, for a specialized nonprofit CPA,” Bae explained. “We’ve never spent that much on an audit, so we’ll go with an internal audit under a new chairman.”
Yoon Sook Park countered, “There was no financial report or audit for the total incomes of $1.15 million in 2022 and $1.46 million in 2023. If Bae is honest, he should justify avoiding the audits.”
Per the foundation’s charter, its accounting and administrative audit committee should include a board member and an external CPA, reporting to the board in December. Yet, no auditor has been appointed.
The meeting also involved electing a new chairman.
Bae’s motion to appoint Alex Cha as chairman, recommended by the new directors, was passed. Bae and the new directors supported the motion, and Bae declared it passed by majority.
During the vote, Vice Chairman Il-soon Choi questioned the nominee’s qualifications, but the chairman insisted on proceeding.
The incumbent board members rejected all decisions, including the expulsions and new chairman’s election.
Park remarked, “The election was fraudulent without an election committee. The unauthorized directors and the unqualified chairman are colluding in absurdities, from selecting a new chairman to expelling existing directors. It’s unacceptable. We will hold a press conference soon to expose the facts.”
BY SUAH JANG, JUNHAN PARK [jang.suah@koreadaily.com]
