Vocational Facility for People with Disabilities Caught Falsifying Documents to Illegally Obtain Subsidies for Former Employees

Fraudulent Receipt of 50 Million Won in Subsidies at Sheltered Workshop
Gwangsan District to Recover Funds and File Charges... Allegations of Human Rights Violations

A vocational rehabilitation facility for people with disabilities has been caught falsifying documents to make it appear as though a former employee with a disability was still working there, thereby fraudulently receiving tens of millions of won in subsidies. The administrative authorities have reported the facility to the police and initiated procedures to recover the subsidies.

Gwangsan District Office, Gwangju.

On October 15, Gwangsan District Office in Gwangju announced that the sheltered workshop at Welfare Center A in its jurisdiction had manipulated documents to make it seem as if a person with a disability who resigned between November and December last year was still employed, thereby fraudulently receiving approximately 50 million won in wage subsidies for one vocational training instructor.

Welfare Center A is a vocational rehabilitation facility that employs people with severe disabilities to produce copy paper, and receives wage subsidies for one vocational training instructor per ten people with disabilities. The district office determined that the facility abused this system by inflating its number of employees.

After receiving a tip-off, the district office launched an investigation and confirmed the facts. It has reported the case to the police for violating the Act on the Management of Subsidies and is proceeding with the recovery of the misappropriated funds.

Separately, allegations of unfair treatment and human rights violations against people with disabilities within the facility have also been raised. As a result, the Disability Rights Advocacy Agency under the Gwangju city government plans to convene a case review committee to discuss the matter.