은행수표 및 소송 취하에 대한 질의 | Bank Drafts and Discontinuance Inquiry

 

Notice of Publication

 

The principal focus of my inquiry was the issuance of two bank drafts from the Korean Association’s funds:

$88,352.00 (Jung Nayoung, 정나영) and $54,040.19 (Cho Kyuhyon and Kim Jaekyoung, 조규현 및 김재경).

As I received no response from Kim Jaekyoung or the Korean Association by the requested deadline, I am

publishing my inquiry. I ask members of the Korean community to review it and form their own judgment.

The inquiry is reproduced below.

 

Request for Explanations and Records Concerning Withdrawal Authority, Two Bank Drafts and Discontinuance of the Lawsuit

 

To: Kim Jaekyoung and the Directors of the Korean Association

 

From: Hong Young Seob (홍영섭, Hong Daegam)

 

Dear Kim Jaekyoung and Directors,

This inquiry sets out the facts I have identified concerning the Korean Association’s financial transactions and

accounting records. It requests explanations and supporting documents from the individuals concerned and

the Association.

Before informing the Korean community of these matters, I wish to correct any factual errors and take into

account the positions of the individuals concerned and the Association. Where confirmation from other

persons is required, please obtain their comments as well and include them in your response.

If any information I have presented is incorrect, or if there are documents I have not reviewed, please identify

the relevant points and provide supporting records. I will consider requests for corrections and differing views

and incorporate them as appropriate.

 

Background to the Inquiry

To assist Kim Jaekyoung and the Directors in understanding my questions, I first set out the information

provided to me by Yang Kigug (양기국), followed by my own questions.

 

Summary of Yang Kigug’s Account

I, Yang Kigug, was elected as a director together with Kim Jaekyoung at the special general meeting in April

2022. I was subsequently elected President of the Korean Association and Chair of the Board at the first Board

meeting, which was presided over by Cho Kyuhyon. Kim Jaekyoung did not attend that first Board meeting. I

thereafter personally convened and conducted Board meetings and prepared and retained the minutes in

Korean and English.

As you know, there was a dispute at that time. However, according to the records filed with the Companies

Office concerning legal authority and the validity of actions taken on the Association’s behalf, the six directors

with legal authority when the Association’s funds were withdrawn to purchase the two bank drafts were Yang

Kigug (양기국), Kim Chang Sun (김창선), Kim Hyungtae (김형태), Kim Kyungsoon (김경순), Choe Wonseok

 (최원석), and Lee Yanghoon (이양훈).

I present the agreement as evidence of my authority as President of the Korean Association. The agreement

establishes that I held legal authority.

The bylaws in effect at the time also required Board approval for expenditures of $3,000 or more. I did not

convene a Board meeting to approve either transaction, nor did I approve either transaction. If you take a

different position on these facts or the application of the bylaws, please provide the basis for your position and

the relevant records.

I also present further evidence that I held lawful authority. Through my lawyer, I made several formal requests

to Cho Gyu-hyun to hand over the Association’s official documents and banking records, transfer banking

authority, and provide the keys to the Korean Association building, among other items. However, I received no

response from Cho Kyuhyon to those requests.

The lawyer’s letter dated July 18, 2022 expressly states that I was the elected President and a director and

requests the handover of the building’s keys and passwords, access to and authority over the bank accounts,

and related documents. I attach that letter as supporting evidence.

End of the summary of Yang Kigug’s account.

 

The following are my questions as Hong Daegam.

 

1  Bank Draft for $88,352.00 Issued on July 30, 2022

1. What authority did Jung Nayoung hold? Who requested the transaction, and who approved it? Please also

explain the respective roles of Jung Na-young and Cho Kyuhyon in the transaction.

2. Who were the authorized signatories registered with TD Bank at the time, and what signing requirements

applied to this transaction? Did those requirements permit Jung Nayoung to request the transaction

alone?

3. Was an ordinary cheque drawn on the Association’s account used for the transaction? If so, who signed it? If

a separate withdrawal request or bank draft application was used, please identify its signatories.

4. Why was only Jung Nayoung’s name entered in the Purchaser field of the bank draft?

5. Apart from the pre-existing registration of authorized bank signatories, what was the basis for internal

approval or delegation of this transaction within the Association? Please provide Board minutes,

resolutions, or records of delegation.

6. What list of directors and related documents were submitted or shown to the bank to establish transaction

authority?

7. What was the purpose of the transaction? Who was responsible for the custody and management of the

bank draft from its issuance until the funds were redeposited, and how was it kept and managed?

 

 

2 Bank Draft for $54,040.19 Issued on September 27, 2022

1. In what positions, and on the basis of what authority, did Cho Kyuhyon and Kim Jaekyoung request issuance

of the bank draft at the time of the transaction?

2. If your position regarding their status as directors and transaction authority at the time differs from Yang

Kigug’s account, please provide the basis for your position and the relevant records.

3. If the Board approved this transaction, please provide the approval date and the minutes or resolution.

4. What list of directors, documents concerning transaction authority, and records of delegation were

submitted or shown to TD Bank?

5. Who signed the actual withdrawal request or bank draft application? Please also identify the authorized

signatories registered with the bank at the time and the signing requirements that applied.

6. Why were the names of both Cho Kyuhyon and Kim Jaekyoung entered in the Purchaser field, and what role

did each perform in the transaction?

7. Who was responsible for the custody and management of the issued bank draft until the funds were

redeposited, and how was it kept and managed?

 

3 Condition of the Accounting Documents Distributed at the 2023 Annual General Meeting

As I understand it, at the 2023 annual general meeting, the then Treasurer, Park Seong-jang (박성장),

distributed Cho Kyuhyon’s accounting documents, which had been audited by Auditor Kim Young-jae

(김영재). Please correct any part of this account that is inaccurate.

The distributed copy I obtained is very dark throughout, making some of its contents difficult to read. Please

clarify the following.

1. Was the original provided by Cho Kyuhyon or on his behalf in the same condition, or did it become dark

during copying or printing?

2. Were the documents provided to Auditor Kim Young-jae for the audit in the same condition as the

distributed copy? Please also state whether a separate, legible original or electronic file was provided.

3. If the original itself was difficult to read, was a request made for legible replacement documents? If so,

please explain what followed; if not, please explain why no request was made.

4. If a legible original or electronic file is currently retained, please provide it.

The distributed documents can be viewed at https://koreanmb.ca/.

 

4 Previous Inquiries and Explanations Following Discontinuance of the Defamation Lawsuit

I have raised concerns about the Association’s funds and accounting practices and have requested

explanations from the individuals concerned and the Association.

Kim Jaekyoung and the Association commenced a civil defamation lawsuit against me, a person who had been

bringing these matters to the attention of the Korean community. They discontinued the lawsuit more than

two years after commencing it.

Regardless of the discontinuance, I have received no answers to date to my questions about the financial

transactions and accounting matters. If there is an official explanation or any material that may be disclosed

concerning the reasons for discontinuing the lawsuit, please provide it as well.

Did the Board in office at the time decide to commence the lawsuit? Who attended, and who voted in favour?

Did the current Board decide to discontinue the lawsuit? Who attended, and who voted in favour? Please

provide the relevant Board minutes.

I am currently compiling and publishing the history of these matters, the documents I have reviewed, and the

questions that remain unanswered on koreanmb.ca. I will also consider responses and supporting materials for

corrections concerning this inquiry and incorporate them as appropriate.

 

5 Access to Documents and Response Deadline

I can provide copies of the bank drafts to the individuals concerned or the Association if they wish to review

them. However, I do not intend to post those copies publicly.

The records filed with the Companies Office contain personal information, including directors’ addresses. I do

not currently plan to publish those documents, but I can provide them for review upon request.

Please provide an item-by-item response and supporting documents by 9:00 p.m. on October 28, 2026,

Winnipeg local time. If more time is needed to verify certain items, please identify those items and advise,

within the deadline, when you expect to be able to respond.

If I do not receive a response by the deadline, I intend to inform the Korean community of this inquiry and

state that no response has been received as of that time.

In addition, I recently obtained the accounting documents covering Kim Jaekyoung’s term of office that were

distributed at the 2023 annual general meeting. I am preparing a separate inquiry concerning several matters

in those documents.

Please provide detailed explanations and relevant records in the interests of the Association’s development

and financial transparency.

 

Thank you.

 

Hong Young Seob (Hong Daegam)