ID :
192946
Tue, 07/05/2011 - 12:20
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/192946
The shortlink copeid
Pilfering of research funds should be eradicated
(Yonhap Editorial)
SEOUL, July 5 (Yonhap) -- The amount of funds pilfered by some research institutes goes beyond imagination.
According to audits of research institutes conducted by the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) late last year, the Korea Electronics Technology Institute has pocketed 7.6 billion won (US$7.13 million) from state coffers by inflating personnel expenses. Of that money, the institute distributed 2.1 billion won as special bonuses to its entire 370-member staff. The institute also raised research members' yearly remuneration by 42 percent from 79 million won on average in 2008 to 120 million won last year.
The 15 institutes audited obtained 2.4 billion won dishonestly by requesting research funds for people who did not participate in research projects and diverted those funds to pay bonuses and cover the operational expenses of the institutes.
The research funds that the 15 institutes pilfered from eight government ministries and 12 research and development organizations in 2008 and 2009 amounted to 82.9 billion won, according to the BAI.
Of course, it is very immoral for the research institutes that employ the nation's top brains to plunder the national budget. However, it should be noted here that there are systematic loopholes that contributed to the excessive pilfering of state funds.
According to government regulations, a researcher cannot request research funds surpassing his or her yearly stipend. However, if a research institute gets assignments for different research projects from several ministries, each ministry does not know about the research funds granted by other ministries. This oversight is then exploited by the immoral institutes to get excessive research funds.
The Knowledge Economy Ministry not only neglected to supervise the research institutes but has itself behaved improperly. The BAI found that the Knowledge Economy Ministry, which is responsible for the supervision of research institutes, has diverted funds allotted for the education of international technology manpower to cover expenses for overseas training of its officials.
The R&D funds should be used efficiently and effectively in order to further the sustainable development and prosperity of the nation.
The taxpayers' money should not be wasted and the misappropriation of funds by any institute or researcher should not be tolerated.
The government should close any loopholes in the system of distributing research funds. Also it should step up supervision and monitoring to make sure state funds are used properly for the projects for which they are allocated. Any pilfering of research funds should be punished.
SEOUL, July 5 (Yonhap) -- The amount of funds pilfered by some research institutes goes beyond imagination.
According to audits of research institutes conducted by the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) late last year, the Korea Electronics Technology Institute has pocketed 7.6 billion won (US$7.13 million) from state coffers by inflating personnel expenses. Of that money, the institute distributed 2.1 billion won as special bonuses to its entire 370-member staff. The institute also raised research members' yearly remuneration by 42 percent from 79 million won on average in 2008 to 120 million won last year.
The 15 institutes audited obtained 2.4 billion won dishonestly by requesting research funds for people who did not participate in research projects and diverted those funds to pay bonuses and cover the operational expenses of the institutes.
The research funds that the 15 institutes pilfered from eight government ministries and 12 research and development organizations in 2008 and 2009 amounted to 82.9 billion won, according to the BAI.
Of course, it is very immoral for the research institutes that employ the nation's top brains to plunder the national budget. However, it should be noted here that there are systematic loopholes that contributed to the excessive pilfering of state funds.
According to government regulations, a researcher cannot request research funds surpassing his or her yearly stipend. However, if a research institute gets assignments for different research projects from several ministries, each ministry does not know about the research funds granted by other ministries. This oversight is then exploited by the immoral institutes to get excessive research funds.
The Knowledge Economy Ministry not only neglected to supervise the research institutes but has itself behaved improperly. The BAI found that the Knowledge Economy Ministry, which is responsible for the supervision of research institutes, has diverted funds allotted for the education of international technology manpower to cover expenses for overseas training of its officials.
The R&D funds should be used efficiently and effectively in order to further the sustainable development and prosperity of the nation.
The taxpayers' money should not be wasted and the misappropriation of funds by any institute or researcher should not be tolerated.
The government should close any loopholes in the system of distributing research funds. Also it should step up supervision and monitoring to make sure state funds are used properly for the projects for which they are allocated. Any pilfering of research funds should be punished.
