The former director of a Korean church in Washington has been accused of embezzling more than $1 million from the congregation over seven years.
Hwan Chul Seong, executive director of Seattle’s Brethren Church, oversaw the finances of both the church and its affiliated school, UCIC. According to the Korea Times, he was dismissed after a church investigation allegedly uncovered significant financial misconduct involving both institutions.
Investigators claim Seong manipulated accounts at the largest Korean church in the Pacific Northwest, transferring funds into various personal accounts by falsifying bank statements and inflating fees.
Church leaders said the investigation found that Seong had used a church business card to purchase gold bars from Costco on multiple occasions, totalling $100,000. He reportedly claimed to have reimbursed the church from personal funds, but the investigation concluded that no such repayment had been made.
The church convened a council meeting to discuss Seong’s dismissal and established a fact-finding committee to determine whether he had embezzled additional funds.
At the joint council meeting, Elder Park Yu-shin, who oversaw the investigation, reportedly stated that “it is estimated that the minister embezzled a total of $1,136,866.69 over seven years through various methods, such as withdrawing cash with a card, using it for personal purposes, inflating fees and inflating amounts.”