Damyang-gun Files Civil and Criminal Charges Against 9 Water Meter Readers for 'Negligence and Embezzlement'

Monthly Meter Reading Without Visiting Consumers... 1,900 Households Affected

Residents' Cash Payments of About 8 Million Won Also Embezzled

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] The county will file criminal charges and a damages lawsuit against nine water meter readers belonging to the Water Circulation Business Office, who caused social controversy due to negligence of duty and embezzlement of cash.

On the 5th, Damyang-gun, Jeollanam-do, announced that it would file criminal charges and a damages claim lawsuit against the nine meter readers.

They were found to have neglected their duties by violating regulations that require visiting water users monthly to check water usage, instead replacing on-site visits with estimated readings based on average monthly usage.

This led to a "bill shock" incident where water bills ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of won were issued to about 1,900 households in Damyang-gun, including a household of elderly couple in their 70s who were charged 3.53 million won in June.

Additionally, some meter readers were reported to have repeatedly embezzled money entrusted by residents to pay their water bills.

The audit confirmed 31 cases where meter readers embezzled money after receiving requests from residents to pay bills on their behalf without actually paying, amounting to about 8 million won.

This "water bill shock" incident was uncovered during the process of introducing a smart remote meter reading system last year, replacing the existing analog water meters with digital ones.

The county confirmed discrepancies between the recorded water meter readings and actual usage, and found that meter readers, who are supposed to visit water user households monthly to check meters, had been arbitrarily recording usage without proper verification.

Damyang-gun conducted an audit and disciplined five water meter readers belonging to the Water Circulation Business Office: one dismissal, three suspensions, and one pay reduction.

Damyang-gun sent apology letters directly to 1,954 households that suffered unexpected damages and informed them of improvement measures.

The county also accepted objections from residents regarding the sudden large bills and plans to apply installment payments and charge the confirmed amounts starting from this month's bills.

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