As Job Market Stagnates, Repeat Jobless Claims Surge (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea recorded about 23 billion won (US$166 million) in fraudulent unemployment benefit claims so far this year, with the government recovering only two-thirds of the amount, according to parliamentary data released Wednesday.
The National Assembly Budget Office said in its 2026 budget analysis that as of August, authorities detected 17,246 cases of false claims for unemployment benefits, amounting to 23.01 billion won. Including additional collection orders, the total repayment amount stood at 43.7 billion won, of which only 28.9 billion won—or 66.3 percent—has been recovered.
Officials noted that the recovery rate typically rises over time as overdue payments are subject to forced collection under national tax procedures.
Fraudulent unemployment benefit payments have steadily increased in recent years, rising from 28.2 billion won in 2021 to 26.8 billion in 2022, 29.9 billion in 2023, and 32.2 billion won in 2024.
In contrast, the number of people voluntarily reporting wrongful claims has declined from 13,325 in 2021 to 8,879 this year.
The number of “repeat recipients,” defined as those who have received job-seeking benefits three or more times within five years, has also climbed sharply. That group grew 12.3 percent in three years, from 100,491 in 2021 to 112,823 last year.
Payouts to repeat recipients rose 16.3 percent over the same period to 580.4 billion won, even as overall unemployment benefits and total recipients declined.
While the employment rate among those who completed job-seeking benefits has improved—from 26.9 percent in 2021 to 33.4 percent this year—the increase in repeat beneficiaries suggests many are still struggling to reenter the labor market, the report said.
The Budget Office urged the Labor Ministry to devise policy measures to reduce repeated claims and strengthen monitoring and recovery efforts for fraudulent payments.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
