▲ Lee Myung-soon, Vice Chairperson of the ACRC
It has been revealed that state funds improperly leaked from 311 institutions, including central administrative agencies, local governments, and provincial offices of education, amounted to 130 billion won last year.
The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) announced the results of its "Inspection on the Implementation of the Public Funds Recovery Act" today (August 7).
According to the ACRC inspection, a total of 141,781 cases of fraudulent receipt were detected last year, and decisions were made to recover 129.6 billion won.
Additionally, penalty surcharges amounting to 50 billion won were imposed on the institutions and individuals involved in the fraudulent receipts.
The ACRC explained that compared to the previous year, the determined recovery amount increased by 24% and the penalty surcharges surged by 74%, marking the largest scale in history.
Key examples presented include receiving agricultural direct subsidies by pretending to cultivate land without actually doing so, and receiving single-parent family support funds while concealing marital or de facto marital relationships.
By category, livelihood benefits accounted for the largest recovery decision scale at 29 billion won, followed by industrial, small and medium enterprise, and energy sector support funds at 22.9 billion won, and housing benefits at 10.3 billion won.
The Public Funds Recovery Act, implemented in 2020, recovers profits generated when public financial payments such as subsidies are fraudulently claimed or received, and imposes penalty surcharges of up to five times the amount.
Lee Myung-soon, Vice Chairperson of the ACRC, stated, "Fraudulent receipt of public financial payments is an act that severely undermines social fairness," adding, "We will strive to strictly manage public finances to secure transparency."
(Photo provided by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Yonhap News)
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