National Health Insurance Service Publishes List of High-Amount and Habitual Delinquents
Singer Jo Deok-bae of 'Kkum-e' Also Owes 32.39 Million Won
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Rapper Dok2 (33), who has unpaid taxes amounting to 330 million KRW, is also reported to have not paid health insurance premiums exceeding 10 million KRW.
On the 1st, the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) disclosed a list of high-amount and habitual defaulters of the four major insurance premiums on its website. Dok2's real name, 'Lee Joon-kyung,' appears on the list. The NHIS provides those who have not paid health insurance premiums exceeding 10 million KRW for more than a year with a period to voluntarily pay and explain before publicly disclosing their information. Essentially, those who are judged to have the means to pay but have not done so are included on the list.
Dok2 defaulted on a total of 16.66 million KRW in health insurance premiums from April 2018 to March 2019, and his personal information was disclosed consecutively at the end of 2020 and 2021. Since the outstanding amount is based on the end of 2021, it is possible that the amount has increased since then. Until 2021, the NHIS repeatedly disclosed the personal information of defaulters meeting the disclosure criteria annually, but from 2022 onward, those already disclosed were excluded from the new disclosure list. Therefore, Dok2’s 2022 information was not updated as he was already listed. As a result, the exact current outstanding amount is unknown.
An NHIS official told Yonhap News, "If the defaulter pays all or part of the overdue premiums and the outstanding amount falls below 10 million KRW, their name is immediately removed from the list. The fact that Dok2 is still on the list means that the outstanding amount (exceeding 10 million KRW) still remains."
Previously, Dok2 was also included in the list of 6,940 high-amount and habitual tax defaulters released by the National Tax Service on the 15th of last month. He was listed for owing a total of 332 million KRW in five cases, including comprehensive income tax.
Singer Jo Deok-bae / Photo by Asia Economy DB
The name of singer Cho Deok-bae (64) can also be found on the NHIS’s list of health insurance premium defaulters. He gained great popularity in the mid-1980s with hit songs such as "In a Dream," "If You Come Into My Heart," and "My Old Story." As of the end of 2021, his health insurance premium default period and amount total 32.39 million KRW from 2010 to 2019.
The disclosure of high-amount and habitual defaulters aims to prevent moral hazard among defaulters and encourage voluntary payment to strengthen the soundness of insurance finances,
and when the personal information of high-amount and habitual defaulters is disclosed, they become subject to benefit restrictions and cannot receive health insurance benefits when using hospitals or clinics, having to bear the full cost of medical fees themselves.
Currently, the information disclosed on the NHIS website includes the defaulter’s name, age, workplace name, and address. The NHIS is planning to add occupations to the disclosed information in the future to raise awareness about health insurance premium defaults. The list of high-amount and habitual health insurance premium defaulters can be viewed by accessing the NHIS website and clicking through 'With the People - Information Disclosure - Prior Information Disclosure - High-Amount and Habitual Defaulters Disclosure.'
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