Gyeonggi Province Awards Record 13 Million Won Reward for Whistleblowing on Fraudulent Daycare Subsidy Claims

The Gyeonggi Provincial Government will award 13 million won in compensation to a whistleblower who reported that a daycare center fraudulently received subsidies by manipulating teachers' working hours and the pick-up times of children in extended care. This is the highest reward ever given for a whistleblower report related to fraudulent daycare subsidy claims.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Audit Committee announced on the 26th that, on the previous day, it held a Public Interest Whistleblower Support Committee meeting and decided to grant a 13 million won reward. The decision was based on the significant contribution to the public interest made by the whistleblower, as administrative actions such as subsidy recovery and suspension of the director's qualifications were taken following reports submitted through the 'Gyeonggi Public Interest Whistleblower Hotline' and other channels, raising awareness of illegal subsidy claims.

The previous highest reward for a whistleblower report related to fraudulent daycare subsidy claims was 3 million won in 2023.

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

On the same day, the committee also deliberated and decided to award a total of 38.26 million won in rewards to five individuals (for five cases), including the whistleblower who reported the fraudulent daycare subsidy claim.

The details are as follows: ▲ Report on subcontracting and unfair special contracts by an unqualified construction company (22.86 million won) ▲ Report on fraudulent daycare subsidy claim (13 million won) ▲ Report on failure to implement site change permit for a construction waste disposal business (2 million won) ▲ Report on violation of compliance requirements by a waste disposal operator (300,000 won) ▲ Report on violation of seafood origin labeling (100,000 won).

An Sangseop, Chairperson of the Gyeonggi Provincial Audit Committee, stated, "For this committee, we applied the newly increased reward standards to determine the amount of compensation," and added, "We operate the public interest whistleblower reward system year-round to ensure that those who contribute to the public interest are not omitted from receiving rewards. We ask for continued interest and active reporting from residents in the future."