Initiated audit of support status for the last 7 years
Average annual increase of 400 billion won for 5 years of the Moon government
Intensive inspection such as transparent accounting
▲ Lee Kwan-seop, chief of state affairs planning at the Presidential Office, is announcing the current status of subsidies and future plans for non-profit private organizations at the Presidential Office Building in Yongsan, Seoul on the 28th. yunhap news
During the five years of the Moon Jae-in administration, government subsidies to non-profit private organizations increased by an average of regarding 400 billion won per year, with regarding 5 trillion won provided annually, according to a presidential office investigation. The government believes that the cases of private use of taxpayers’ taxes are serious, and plans to self-audit the status of subsidy execution projects by departments by the first half of next year and embark on a full-scale reorganization.
On the 28th, Lee Kwan-seop, chief of state affairs planning at the Presidential Office, held a briefing on the ‘current status of subsidies to non-profit private organizations and future plans’ at the Yongsan Presidential Office and made the announcement.
As a result of the presidential office’s investigation of government subsidies paid to non-profit private organizations such as various civic groups, associations, foundations, federations, and welfare facilities for seven years from 2016 to this year, the total amount was found to be 31.4 trillion won. The number of support groups increased from 22,881 in 2016 to 27,215 this year, an increase of 4,334 over the past seven years. The presidential office believes that support from the former Moon Jae-in administration has increased further.
Although both the number of organizations and the scale of support have increased, since 2016, only 153 cases of problematic businesses were detected and the amount recovered was only 3.4 billion won. Chief Lee said, “I think the subsidy project was not managed at all,” and said, “Each department will conduct a full-scale self-audit.”
In addition, the government intensively inspects the selection process of support organizations, transparent accounting, and whether subsidies are used according to the purpose.
The President’s Office also disclosed major problems such as accounting irregularities in inter-Korean exchange projects and improper use of funds to support the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster. The President’s Office sees national taxes as ‘private misappropriation’ and plans to improve the subsidy management system, supplement regulations, and reorganize the online subsidy management system. We will also look into whether there has been any inappropriate behavior by public officials.
Reporter Lee Hye-ri
