Minister Han Seong-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said regarding fraudulent cashing of Onnuri gift certificates, "We will review ways to work with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to address this forcefully."
At the National Assembly inspection of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups by the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 14th, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Jang Cheol-min raised the issue of fraudulent cashing of Onnuri gift certificates, saying, "Saemaul Geumgo earned tens of billions of won in revenue over several years but was not sanctioned."
Jang said, "The Onnuri gift certificate issue was a matter that was intensively addressed at the National Assembly inspection last year, but even after a year, civil and criminal measures are virtually insufficient," noting, "Criminally, only one person has been indicted and is on trial, and there are hardly any clawbacks."
He went on, "A Saemaul Geumgo near a traditional market hauled gift certificates by handcart each day and cashed in hundreds of billions of won," adding, "This Saemaul Geumgo handled the most cashing nationwide and earned about 4 billion won in revenue over several years from exchange fees alone. This is indirect revenue derived from criminal acts, meaning a budget funded by taxpayers ultimately turned into private gain."
Minister Han said, "You pointed out many issues with Onnuri gift certificates during the confirmation hearing, and we organized and reviewed the points you raised last year as a list," adding, "We will review ways to work with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to address this forcefully."
There was also criticism over the cost of building the Sangsaeng Payback server. Sangsaeng Payback is a program that reimburses up to 300,000 won in digital Onnuri gift certificates when card spending increases. Once the Sangsaeng Payback program ends, it is uncertain whether the system built at expense can be reused. For reasons such as the budget, programs of the same nature cannot be implemented frequently, and it is unclear whether they can be linked with other policy programs.
People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jong-bae pointed out, "The efficiency of the Sangsaeng Payback program being promoted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups must also be thoroughly examined." Lee said, "The system construction cost for Sangsaeng Payback alone is 19.4 billion won, and total operating expenses reach 50 billion won," noting, "Even though it is a temporary program that will operate only until Nov., the system construction cost is excessive," and said that policies related to small business owners are being carried out in a slapdash manner.
Minister Han responded, "I strongly agree with the points you raised, Assembly member."