KOGAS officials fake documents for permanent residency in Australia

By Ko Dong-hwan

Two officials of Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS) manipulated their records and provided the wrong information to Australian immigration authorities in an attempt to acquire permanent residency in the country, Korea's state-run natural resource developer said Sunday.

KOGAS launched an internal investigation against two officials from the company’s Australian subsidiary in September and completed it in November. The company said it will launch a special committee to decide the severity of punishment.

According to KOGAS, the accused officials listed the wrong information in their application submitted to Australia’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection to make themselves eligible for permanent residency. They manipulated their employment contracts and reported to Australian authorities that they had lived in the country for longer than they had.

The period of stay for a KOGAS official when dispatched to Australia each time is three years.

KOGAS first learned of the officials’ fraud in August when it received a report.

It remains unknown whether Australian authorities granted the officials permanent residency.

“We are considering this matter very seriously. The officials in question will be dealt pertinent punishment in accordance with our internal regulations,” KOGAS said. “We plan to run an additional round of searches into our employees to strengthen oversight on our staff and prevent this kind of crime.”

The accused officials are from KOGAS Prelude, which KOGAS established in 2011. The subsidiary, operating until 2039, develops gas reserves in the northwestern waters off the Australian coast.