Protecting 'Naratdon'... Up to 5 Times Penalty for Fraudulent Acquisition

Chairman Eunjeong Park of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. / Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government has decided to impose a penalty of up to five times the amount on those caught deceiving or inflating public financial payments such as subsidies. This is an expression of the will to protect public funds, often called "blind money," which have been leaking continuously.

According to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission on the 17th, starting this month, the "Public Finance Recovery Act" will be enforced, requiring those caught deceiving or inflating claims for various subsidies, compensations, and grants to pay up to five times the amount involved.

In cases of false or excessive claims, use for purposes other than originally intended, or incorrect payments, the full amount must be returned, and up to five times the amount of illicit gains will be imposed as a penalty. If payment is not made, the offender's name and details will be publicly disclosed on the administrative agency’s website until payment is completed.

If a person has been penalized with a surcharge by the relevant administrative agency two or more times in the past three years and the illicit gains amount to 30 million KRW or more, their name and details will be published on the agency’s website every year by March 31.

The names, business names, ages, addresses, illicit gains, and surcharge imposition details of fraudulent recipients will be displayed for one year. If the illicit gains or surcharges are not fully repaid within one year, the list will continue to be publicly disclosed thereafter.

Cases where public funds have been treated as so-called "blind money" have been frequent. For example, previously, even if youth job-seeking activity support funds (Youth Allowance) or national scholarships were fraudulently claimed, they could not be recovered or penalized. With the enforcement of the law, full recovery of illicit gains and penalties of up to five times the amount can now be imposed.

Reports can be made to the relevant public institution, supervisory agency, Board of Audit and Inspection, investigative agencies, or the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. If the report contributes to the direct recovery or increase of public institution revenue or cost reduction, a reward of 30% of the recovered amount will be paid, up to a maximum of 3 billion KRW.

Protections for whistleblowers have also been established. Anyone who discloses or reports the identity or status of a whistleblower to others will face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million KRW.

Park Eun-jung, Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, stated, "We hope that the public finance recovery system, which will be implemented from this year, will establish a standard for the fair use of public funds and achieve the legislative intent of preventing budget waste and enhancing fiscal efficiency."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.