On July 1, 2020, the World Bank Group announced the 13-month debarment of Yooshin Engineering Corporation, a South Korean construction and engineering company, for its fraudulent practices when negotiating a consulting contract concerning an infrastructure project at three airports in Vanuatu. According to the World Bank, Yooshin failed to disclose in writing until after signing the contract that two key experts relevant to the project were unavailable, “despite attempts to secure their commitment.” During its debarment period, Yooshin is ineligible to participate in World Bank projects, and is subject to cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks.
Yooshin admitted to its misconduct, cooperated in the investigation, and undertook voluntary remedial actions. As a result, the World Bank reduced Yooshin’s period of debarment to 13 months, to be followed by a 17-month period of conditional non-debarment. During this conditional non-debarment period, Yooshin may return to working on World Bank-supported projects, subject to compliance with the terms of the settlement agreement, including the development of an integrity compliance program consistent with World Bank guidelines.