[2020 National Audit] 'Durunuri' Leaking Public Funds... 50 Billion KRW of Fraudulent Claims in 5 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] It has been revealed that the amount of fraudulent claims in the 'Durunuri Social Insurance System,' which aims to eliminate blind spots in social insurance for vulnerable groups, has exceeded 50 billion KRW over the past five years.

The Durunuri Social Insurance System is a program that provides up to 90% support for employment insurance and national pension contributions paid by both employers and workers, targeting workers in workplaces with fewer than 10 employees whose average monthly wage is less than 2.15 million KRW.

According to data submitted by the National Pension Service to Jeong Chun-sook, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, approximately 51 billion KRW in fraudulent claims related to Durunuri Social Insurance occurred at 294,224 workplaces from 2015 to the present.

The amount of fraudulent claims in the Durunuri Social Insurance System increased every year. It rose from 7.8 billion KRW in 2015 to 9.2 billion KRW in 2017, and 15.6 billion KRW last year. The number of problematic workplaces also surged from 39,443 in the same period to 65,262 and 81,519, respectively.

The most common reason for fraudulent claims was 'delayed reporting of qualification changes,' such as employers delaying the reporting of employee resignations, accounting for 55.4%. This was followed by 'exceeding 110% of the standard income,' where wages were paid at 110% higher than the reported income, at 38.2%, and 'exceeding workplace size' at 3.9%.

Assemblywoman Jeong emphasized, "The National Pension Service must eradicate fraudulent claims through investigation and management and ensure that support funds are properly disbursed for low-wage workers."

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