The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Establishes Dedicated Team for Recovering Illicit Public Funds

Strengthening of Public Finance Recovery System Division and Reinforcement of Personnel for System Operation and Compliance Monitoring

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] On the 21st, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced the establishment of the "Public Finance Recovery System Division," which will comprehensively manage systems related to the recovery of fraudulent claims on various subsidies, compensations, and contributions by the government, local governments, and public institutions.

With the enforcement of the "Act on the Prohibition of Fraudulent Claims and Recovery of Unjust Benefits in Public Finance (hereinafter referred to as the Public Finance Recovery Act)" since January this year, if any fraudulent or inflated claims are detected regarding various subsidies, compensations, contributions, and other "public finance payments," the full amount must be returned, and up to five times the unjust benefit must be paid as a penalty.

The Public Finance Recovery System Division will be responsible for overseeing policies to prevent fraudulent claims in public finance, supporting the operation of systems at various levels of institutions, and inspecting compliance status.

Specifically, it will operate systems to prevent leakage of public finance and recover fraudulently obtained public funds, respond to various legal inquiries from administrative agencies, and handle education and publicity related to the public finance recovery system. To interpret the law and provide legal advice, a "Public Finance Recovery Act Interpretation Advisory Group" composed of experts from law, academia, finance, and administration will be operated, and the division will promote the main contents and cases of the system to recipients, the general public, and public officials.

Additionally, it will inspect the compliance status of legal obligations such as recovery of unjust benefits and imposition of penalty surcharges across all administrative agencies. Intensive inspections will be conducted in vulnerable sectors where fraudulent claims frequently or repeatedly occur, and recommendations for system improvements will be made.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission stated, "By establishing an operational foundation for the public finance recovery system to prevent fraudulent claims and changing the public perception that 'there is no such thing as blind government money,' we expect the soundness and transparency of public finance to be further strengthened."

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