Yangju city government in Gyeonggi Province said late Monday that it had launched an inspection into one of its first-year employees, who recently claimed on social media to be neglecting their duties while pretending to be on a business trip.

"(The city) will hold a thorough investigation on whether the employee in question has violated the Local Public Officials Act by posting what can only be interpreted as a fake business trip on their social media page, thereby demoralizing the other hard-working officials and spreading negative perception toward all employees of the city," Yangju said in an official statement.

The official, who Yangju said was hired on Jan. 8, had sparked controversy with an online post indicating that they had been visiting local coffee houses and restaurants while pretending to work.

It was revealed that the person accompanied their superior around 10 a.m. last Friday, during which they used a restaurant and a coffee shop during lunchtime and returned to city hall at 1:23 p.m. The city government stressed that the official in question did not go on a fake business trip or illegally receive expenses for it as they claimed.

The government worker had also revealed an official document of a construction plan in a prohibited area, complaining, "Why won't you just listen? We have to tear down your hard work anyway."

The person also complained about frequent work dinners, revealing the name and department of the people in their team.

The online posts sparked complaints to the city government. The civil servant reportedly told officials that it was "to brag to friends," and that they went overboard.