Police Detain and Send Two Individuals to Prosecution for Embezzling Tens of Billions in Subsidies from the Startup Promotion Agency

Two brokers who deceived companies and public institutions to embezzle billions of won in subsidies during the K-Non-face-to-face Voucher Platform project have been handed over to the prosecution in custody.

Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Mapo Office.
Photo by Taewon Choi skking@

According to the police on the 19th, the Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency sent two men, Mr. A in his 40s and Mr. B in his 50s, who are accused of violating the Subsidy Management Act and fraud, to prosecution in custody.

They are suspected of registering as suppliers of the K-Non-face-to-face Voucher Platform remote work attendance management service and embezzling a total of 1.89 billion won. From October 2020 to December of the following year, they received applications from about 860 companies wishing to use the service and fraudulently obtained subsidies ranging from 2 million to 4 million won per case from the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development.

The Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development invested 288 billion won in 2020 and 216 billion won in 2021 in the project. The structure is such that companies applying for vouchers are reimbursed when they introduce remote work programs. Mr. A and others are known to have exploited poor management and supervision.

The police began investigating in July last year upon request from the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development. After investigating the case, the police applied for arrest warrants and obtained them on the 15th. The Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development plans to take measures such as recovering subsidies based on the investigation results.

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