Gyeonggi Province Special Prosecution Division Cracks Down on Social Welfare Sector Misconduct

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun, Reporter] The Gyeonggi Province Fair Special Judicial Police Division announced on the 29th that it will launch intensive investigations into operational subsidy misconduct, including food costs for children's facilities and living expenses for elderly facilities.

Investigation targets include ▲cases where food costs for children were used for other purposes or misappropriated ▲cases where living assistance subsidies for the elderly were used for other purposes or misappropriated ▲cases where basic assets (real estate, etc.) were disposed of (sold, gifted, exchanged, leased, pledged, or repurposed) without permission from the provincial governor ▲cases where revenue generated from profit-making business was used for purposes other than corporate or facility operations, and other illegal acts by social welfare corporations and facilities.

In particular, intensive investigation targets include cases where food costs for socially vulnerable children were arbitrarily used like personal spending money, leading to poor meal services, or where kickbacks were received through collusion with related businesses, as well as misappropriation of subsidies in elderly facilities, which have become a major social issue due to inappropriate facility operations.

Subsidies received from the government or local governments must be used for their intended purposes, and basic assets are essential for social welfare corporations to operate social welfare projects, so permission from the provincial governor must be obtained when disposing of them through sales, leasing, etc. Violation of this can result in "imprisonment for no more than five years or a fine of no more than 50 million won."

Anyone who becomes aware of misconduct by corporations and facilities engaged in social welfare business can report or provide information through "the Gyeonggi Province Special Prosecution Division website or KakaoTalk channel Gyeonggi Province Fair Special Judicial Police Division, and the Gyeonggi Province Public Reporting Hotline."

Kim Young-soo, head of the Fair Special Judicial Police Division, stated, "Since most social welfare facilities operate with subsidies or receive direct or indirect support, high public interest and transparency are required. Improper use of subsidies and illegal facility operations ultimately lead to deterioration in the quality of welfare services that should be provided to residents," and added, "In particular, subsidy misconduct is a meticulous and planned crime, and residents' reports are very important."

Meanwhile, the Gyeonggi Province Fair Special Judicial Police Division began investigating misconduct in the social welfare sector following the start of Governor Lee Jae-myung's seventh elected term. It has referred 11 current and former representatives to prosecutors, including A Corporation, which misappropriated 177 million won in revenue obtained by converting an elderly residential facility into a lodging facility; B Daycare Center, which misappropriated 64.1 million won in improper subsidy receipt and employee salary costs for private purposes; and C Corporation, which arbitrarily used 425 million won from the sale of corporate basic assets (real estate) without authorization from administrative authorities.