Six Including Child Center Director Who Embezzled Meal Funds for Food-Insecure Children 'Cracked Down'

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has uncovered six individuals, including the head of a local children's center who embezzled tens of millions of won in subsidies such as meal expenses for children at risk of food insecurity to pay for their children's education, and an operator who ran an unregistered welfare facility for the disabled while collecting usage fees from disabled individuals for years without reporting it.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 23rd that from February to June, through a planned investigation targeting local children's centers and unregistered welfare facilities in the province under the theme of "subsidy corruption and illegal social welfare facilities," it uncovered five social welfare facilities and six facility heads involved in subsidy corruption by local children's center heads, illegal operation of unregistered welfare facilities for the disabled, and unauthorized disposition of basic assets of social welfare corporations, and sent four of them to the prosecution.

The province plans to send the remaining two individuals, who have been criminally booked, to the prosecution once the investigation is completed.

According to the provincial investigation, the amount embezzled or fraudulently obtained through subsidies by these individuals reached a staggering 1.12 billion won.

Specifically, the head of a local children's center in Ansan City manipulated education instructor fees, labor costs, and food material expenses, inflated the labor costs of staff such as meal cooks, and then reclaimed the excess, embezzling 23.15 million won from the subsidies received from the city for personal living expenses.

The head of a local children's center in Hwaseong City used 31.28 million won of the subsidy for the meal program for children at risk of food insecurity for their children's education expenses and also showed audacity by using the subsidy as a revolving fund for several months.

The head of a local children's center in Suwon City inflated the labor costs paid to meal cooks by overstating their actual working hours, then reclaimed the difference of 11 million won and used it as operating expenses for the church where the facility head serves as a pastor.

An operator of a non-profit private organization in Yongin City was caught operating a social welfare facility without reporting it to the competent authorities. The operator recruited a cumulative total of 23 disabled individuals over five years and, under the pretext of caring for them during daytime hours, embezzled 290 million won in usage fees from them.

Additionally, the operator, along with four relatives, registered as disability activity support workers but did not actually provide services to the disabled and is suspected of receiving government subsidies for disability activity support fraudulently. The operator is also accused of frequently abusing disabled individuals. The supervisory agency has reported the operator to the police.

The representative of a social welfare corporation in Pyeongtaek City illegally leased a building, which is a basic asset of the corporation, to their child for residential use without prior approval, despite the requirement that it be used for the corporation's primary purpose. Another basic asset, a neighborhood living facility, was illegally leased to a third party under a monthly or yearly lease, generating an unfair profit of 280 million won over ten years.

Under the current Social Welfare Services Act, when a social welfare corporation intends to sell, donate, exchange, lease, provide as collateral, or change the use of its basic assets, it must obtain approval from the mayor or governor. Violations can result in imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won.

Kim Young-soo, head of the Provincial Fair Special Judicial Police Unit, emphasized, "Subsidy corruption at local children's centers responsible for child care in the community and the operation of illegal social welfare facilities must be eradicated." He added, "The Fair Special Judicial Police Unit will strengthen investigations into subsidy corruption to ensure that subsidies for socially vulnerable groups are not wasted and that welfare projects are conducted fairly and transparently."