Embezzled 'Payment Withheld' Funds from Care Institution for 6 Months, Deposited into Personal Account
Fled to Germany Last Week Claiming Family Trip... Admitted "Sorry"
A major embezzlement case worth 4.6 billion KRW has occurred at the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), which manages the health insurance premiums paid monthly by the public. Since an internal employee committed the crime deliberately and has already fled overseas, difficulties are expected in the investigation and recovery of the stolen funds.
On the 24th, NHIS announced that on the 22nd, it confirmed that employee A, who was in charge of debt management in the Finance Management Office, embezzled an estimated 4.6 billion KRW. The employee was immediately criminally reported to the Wonju Police Station in Gangwon Province, and the accounts were frozen.
The embezzled money was medical fees that had been withheld due to 'debt seizure' and other reasons. According to NHIS, from April to September, A manipulated the creditor’s account information so that the medical fees would be deposited into his own account in order to embezzle public funds.
The amount deposited this way was 100 million KRW during the first four months from April to July, but on the 16th, it increased to 300 million KRW. Then, on the 21st, 4.2 billion KRW was deposited into his account all at once.
NHIS confirmed the embezzlement while inspecting the withheld payment amounts on the morning of the 22nd, the day after the last deposit. A full investigation into A’s period of work revealed other embezzlement cases as well. After an internal meeting, this information was disclosed to the media on the afternoon of the 23rd.
A took leave last week, saying he was going on an overseas trip with his family, and it is understood that he is still staying abroad. When the issue surfaced, A reportedly admitted guilt by saying "I am sorry" in communications with NHIS.
NHIS has revoked A’s work authority and plans to discipline him according to internal procedures. They have also criminally reported A to the Wonju Police Station and taken provisional seizure measures on deposit claims to recover the principal. NHIS stated that they are closely cooperating with the police to minimize damages.
The embezzlement amount of 4.6 billion KRW is the largest crime amount ever recorded within NHIS. In the 2013 National Assembly audit, it was revealed that from 2008 to 2011, eight NHIS employees embezzled 510 million KRW by misappropriating insurance premium overpayments, auction dividends, medical expenses, and insurance premiums.
Last year, an NHIS employee was sentenced to 10 years in prison for accepting bribes totaling about 190 million KRW related to bidding on projects commissioned by NHIS from 2017 to 2018.
Regarding this incident, NHIS has activated an emergency response team led by Director Kang Do-tae to conduct a special inspection and establish measures to prevent recurrence. However, it appears difficult to avoid responsibility for poor management, as a quasi-public official at NHIS committed large-scale embezzlement while managing the public’s health insurance premiums. Critics also point out that this is not unrelated to the fact that the head of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which supervises NHIS, has been vacant for four months.
An NHIS official said, "We deeply recognize the seriousness of the matter and are swiftly conducting a focused inspection of all cash payment-related tasks. We will establish recurrence prevention measures, check for any omissions in cross-checking processes across all operations, and develop fundamental measures to ensure effective internal controls in departments related to high-risk risks."
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