Bust up over secret Lydia Ko donations

Heated discussions erupted at The Korean Society of Auckland Inc in Hillcrest over details relating to the Lydia Ko loan arrangment case and matters of donations. Photo / Jason Dorday

Police were called to the Auckland Korean Society tonight after a meeting on secret donations from the Korean Development Bank to golfing superstar Lydia Ko's family turned nasty.

The Herald revealed earlier this month that donations totalling more than $100,000 were made to 17-year-old Ko's family by the Korean government-owned bank in 2012 and 2013 through the society's Auckland bank account.

An Internal Affairs investigation found that the society, a registered charity, had breached its own rules over the way it tried to disguise the donations. It said the activities could "constitute serious wrongdoing" and issued a formal warning notice, and gave it until March 31 to provide a "thorough and detailed written response" to address the issues raised.

The meeting last night was aimed at disclosing details of the transactions and other alleged financial matters to the wider membership.

Mr Kim was asked to step down as society president and the meeting soured soon after and turned into a shouting match - stopping repeatedly as the complainants nearly came to blows with leadership.

Police arrived just after 7.30pm and the meeting, attended by more than 100 society members and conducted in Korean, quickly calmed.

Photo / Jason Dorday

One member told the Weekend Herald that the whole saga had caused the community to "lose face" and was concerned that it could bring "NZ's Korean hero" into disrepute.

"We don't care about the society leadership, we care about Lydia Ko," said the member, who did not want to be named. "Their... actions may result in giving Lydia a bad name, when it's totally not her fault."

Q & A

What is it about?

Korean Society of Auckland leaders used the organisation to conceal financial support of over $108,000 from a Korean Government bank to Lydia Ko. The society's president also allegedly made loans to the society for personal profit and there is civil court action against him.

Why is it wrong?
The society is a registered charity and an Internal Affairs-Charities Services investigation deemed these activities were against its charitable purpose and a rules breach.

What could happen?
The society could be struck from the Charities Register under the Charities Act 2005, but it was deemed that such formal action would be disproportionate and impact unfairly on its membership. It has been issued a formal warning.