'Social Welfare Facility Subsidies Still Treated as Pocket Money'... Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Arrest 7 People

Gyeonggi Province has uncovered social welfare facilities that illegally operated disability welfare facilities or used subsidies for purposes other than intended. The total amount of subsidies misused by these entities reached 620 million KRW.

The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police announced on the 14th that, based on reports and inquiries from April to October, they conducted a focused investigation into the legality of social welfare facilities and identified seven individuals, including facility operators and association heads, for using subsidies for purposes other than intended.

Regarding specific types of corruption, Y, the head of Association A, a subsidy-supported project facility located in Pyeongtaek City, colluded with suppliers of goods used by the association to deliver fewer goods than the payment amount and received the remaining payment back from the suppliers through a so-called "payback" scheme. From 2007 to 2024, Y received and used 500 million KRW through this method. Additionally, Y misused 3.6 million KRW of fuel subsidies intended for association vehicles by using it for employee vehicles.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Special Judicial Police Agency identified seven individuals for misusing subsidies and other violations during an investigation of social welfare facilities. Provided by Gyeonggi Provincial Government

K, the director of B Regional Child Center located in Uijeongbu City, falsely registered L, who never actually worked, as an employee and received labor cost subsidies from Uijeongbu City. K managed L’s salary account and seal directly and withdrew cash, misusing 120 million KRW of subsidies for purposes other than intended over 90 instances from January 2017 to March 2024.

Furthermore, when establishing and operating social welfare facilities such as residential facilities for the disabled, notification to the competent authority is required. However, M of facility C located in Dongducheon City operated a residential facility for two disabled persons from 2018 to 2023 without notification.

Under the current Social Welfare Services Act, those who use subsidies for purposes other than intended face imprisonment of up to five years or fines up to 50 million KRW, and those who establish or operate facilities without notification face imprisonment of up to one year or fines up to 10 million KRW.

A representative of the provincial special judicial police stated, "We will continue to conduct investigations into social welfare corporations (facilities) that commit illegal acts to protect vulnerable groups who truly need social welfare services."