South Korea will allow regulators to revoke the licenses of social service providers caught filing false claims for electronic voucher payments twice, under tougher penalties that also raise fines to as much as five times the fraudulently claimed amount. At the payment stage, the government will cross-check the locations of service users and care workers to block abuse.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the measures, titled a plan to strengthen management of fraudulent claims in the social service electronic voucher program, on the 15th. The program subsidizes the cost of care and rehabilitation services, including personal assistance for people with disabilities and developmental rehabilitation. Users pay with an issued card, and provider institutions receive the corresponding amount.
The government will sharply raise the level of sanctions for fraudulent claims. Providers caught filing false claims twice can now have their licenses revoked, a step that previously required three violations. The window for determining whether a violation is a repeat offense will also be extended to five years from two. That means an institution sanctioned for a false claim three years ago can be treated as a repeat violator if caught again. The calculation standard for fines will be changed to allow penalties of up to five times the fraudulently claimed amount. The ministry plans to revise the relevant presidential decree and other rules by the end of the year.
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