According to the latest reports by Korean news outlets, a huge sum raised by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs with the help of BTS member RM, including a significant amount donated by the idol himself, has been completely lost in the system.
In September last year, when RM was still serving in the military, he had made a direct donation of ₩100 million KRW (about $70,000 USD) to the ministry. Thanks to his contribution, the ministry was able to raise around ₩1.00 billion KRW (about $700,000 USD) in donations. However, as per an October 14 JTBC report, the ministry is unable to verify if the donated funds were used for their designated purpose.
When RM made the donation, he made sure to designate it specifically to help uniformed workers such as soldiers, police officers, and firefighters, who have been dedicated to serving the nation. In response, Kang Jung Ae, the Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, wrote a thank you letter to him, and heavily promoted RM’s contribution. This directly resulted in designated donations to the ministry increasing 100-fold, with the number of donors surging to 2,000.
However, it has now been disclosed that designated donations collected in this manner cannot be tracked to confirm whether they were used as specified. According to the current law, donations are managed under a single National Merit Support Account. Since all donations are pooled into one account and mixed with other funds, it cannot be effectively traced whether the donated money is being used for the specific causes as requested by donors.
Lee Jung Moon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, recently spoke about this issue, accusing the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs of promoting false information to the public regarding specified donations. A ministry official responded to the accusations, stating that since the donations are managed manually, detailed execution is “practically difficult.” “Although we are aware that the scope of donations is still limited, the enforcement ordinance was revised for promotional purposes,” they added.
The news has sparked significant anger among RM’s fans, who are left questioning the ministry’s intention and competence.
assigned him to the poorest base and the furthest from civilization and now losing track of his money donated to help war veterans wow https://t.co/hkyoRVNRCG
— alexandra⁷ (@bigdeal0818) October 14, 2025
Soooo corrupt
They even forced him as a poster boy last Chuseok for that corrupt expresident 🙄 https://t.co/hWo7rFDklp pic.twitter.com/DolIifqEr2
— BigBossChi (@LexieSushi) October 14, 2025
It’s disappointing to see genuine goodwill get lost in the system.
When someone like Namjoon donates with such sincerity, the least the country can do is honor that intention. https://t.co/H4jIprR3vM
— s (@s74023966) October 14, 2025
U are telling me 1 billon donation raised by RM went missing from the system and govt doesn't know where it went?
Like what the fck , the least they can do is honor the cause he donated money for 😑 https://t.co/EzjhLdkUou
— 𝕭𝖔𝖗(ꪜ )⁷💣⟭⟬💜⟬⟭ (@BTS_Vgirl) October 14, 2025
