113,000 repeat unemployment benefit claimants recorded last year; 65,000 cycled through same employer

Some 113,000 people collected unemployment benefits three or more times within the past five years last year, while 65,000 did so by repeatedly quitting and rejoining the same employer. Total payouts to repeat claimants reached approximately 600 billion won ($444 million) last year alone.

The figures come from data submitted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor to People Power Party lawmaker Kim So-hee of the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee on Tuesday.

The number of people receiving unemployment benefits three or more times within a five-year window has grown steadily — from 102,000 in 2022 to 110,000 in 2023 and 113,000 in 2024, with last year's count holding at 113,000. The trend shows no sign of slowing: through July this year, 77,000 people had already collected benefits three or more times.

The payouts are substantial. Benefits disbursed to repeat claimants last year totaled 599.75 billion won, just shy of the 600 billion won mark, working out to an average of about 5.3 million won per person.

The number of high-frequency claimants is also rising. Those who received benefits five or more times grew from 13,000 in 2022 to 14,000 in both 2023 and 2024, reaching 15,000 last year. Benefits paid to this group last year totaled 61.09 billion won. One individual was found to have collected benefits as many as seven times.

Particularly notable is the pattern of workers quitting and rejoining the same employer to collect benefits — 65,000 people did so last year. The figure has hovered around 60,000 annually in recent years, up from 58,000 in 2022, 66,000 in 2023 and 67,000 in 2024.

Under the current system, a claimant must have been insured for at least 180 days in the 18 months before leaving a job, must have left involuntarily, and must be actively seeking reemployment. There is, however, no limit on the number of times a person may claim benefits.

Among repeat claimants, investigators have uncovered cases in which workers fabricated paperwork to make it appear their employment contracts had ended, or disguised voluntary departures as involuntary ones — such as employer-recommended resignations — in order to collect benefits.

A targeted probe by the Ministry of Employment and Labor found that 412 people exploited such fictitious involuntary separations to claim benefits between 2022 and last year, with fraudulent payouts totaling 3.1 billion won.

The total number of unemployment benefit fraud cases detected has also climbed — from 23,869 in 2022 to 22,892 in 2023, 24,418 in 2024 and 25,105 last year. Common methods include falsely reporting the length of employment or the reason for leaving, and failing to disclose reemployment while continuing to collect benefits.

Organized fraud involving employers or brokers has also come to light. One business owner who ran five workplaces in Daegu was investigated on charges of recruiting fictitious workers with four brokers over the past seven years and collecting 540 million won in unemployment benefits, among other amounts. Over the past five years, four cases of broker-assisted unemployment benefit fraud have been detected, and the ministry referred all of them to prosecutors with a recommendation for indictment.

When fraud is detected, benefit payments are suspended and up to five times the fraudulently obtained amount may be clawed back. Criminal penalties of up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won are also possible.

"Simple administrative guidelines and monitoring alone cannot stop the abuse of short-term employment cycles by 113,000 people," Kim said. "We need fundamental reform — not just the government's proposed benefit reduction, but measures such as raising the minimum insurance period from 180 days to 12 months."