Nationwide Special Crackdown for Nine Months Until End of October
Anti-Corruption Units and Local Police Intelligence Teams Designated as Dedicated Task Forces
The police will conduct a special crackdown on various insurance frauds and illegal activities associated with the operation of so-called 'office-managed hospitals.' They plan to focus their investigative resources on these crimes, which undermine the trust in the insurance system as a social safety net.
The National Office of Investigation at the Korean National Police Agency announced on February 1 that it will carry out a nationwide special crackdown until October 31, 2026, for a period of nine months. The crackdown will target various types of public and private insurance fraud, as well as illegal acts related to the establishment and operation of unauthorized medical institutions.
The police will conduct a special crackdown on various insurance frauds and illegal activities associated with so-called 'office-managed hospitals.' ChatGPT generated image
Insurance serves as a safety net that disperses the economic risks faced by citizens due to illness or accidents and supports their lives. However, insurance frauds that exploit the complex coverage system have been occurring frequently every year. According to the Korean National Police Agency, the number of insurance fraud cases detected has been increasing annually: 3,189 cases in 2021, 1,597 cases in 2022, 1,600 cases in 2023, 1,899 cases in 2024, and 2,084 cases in 2025. In particular, the police have analyzed that acts such as the embezzlement of medical benefits by corporate-style office-managed hospitals and the abuse of various indemnity insurance policies are evolving into 'organized crime.' In these cases, industry insiders and brokers use their specialized knowledge of insurance to directly plan and design the crime structure, then collude with the medical community to carry out the offenses.
The police will expand the scope of the special crackdown on insurance fraud beyond public and private embezzlement crimes to include illegal acts related to the establishment and operation of unauthorized medical institutions, as well as various medical practices intended to embezzle insurance payouts. The crackdown will be comprehensive and all-encompassing.
To focus investigative resources, each provincial police agency's anti-corruption and economic crime investigation units, criminal investigation squads, and local police station intelligence teams will be designated and operated as 'dedicated insurance fraud investigation teams.' For organized and habitual offenses, the police plan to actively apply the legal charge of 'organizing a criminal group,' pursue pre-indictment preservation of criminal proceeds, and simultaneously recover embezzled medical benefits, thereby conducting a strong and thorough crackdown.
The Korean National Police Agency stated, "Insurance fraud is a crime that undermines trust in the insurance system, which serves as a social safety net, and causes losses in insurance payouts, ultimately harming honest policyholders. Therefore, we will conduct a strong and rigorous crackdown on these crimes."
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