Cases of misconduct by National Medical Center (NMC) employees, such as falsely claiming business expenses or improperly using research funds, have led to disciplinary action.

According to internal audit data obtained by Rep. Ahn Sang-hoon of the People Power Party from the NMC on Friday, there were only two disciplinary cases over the past five years, in 2021, and one each in 2022 and 2023. However, they surged to 18 cases in 2024. Through July 2025, three cases were recorded.

The largest proportion of disciplinary cases involved fraudulent claims for travel expenses.

Fifty-five employees of the NMC Central Emergency Medical Center were found to have submitted false travel claims in 1,074 instances over more than three and a half years, including the use of fake KTX train receipts. Of these, 932 cases involved overcharging compared to legitimate fares, resulting in improper payments totaling 14.43 million won ($10,228).

A typical case involved a healthcare worker who submitted receipts for canceled transportation bookings and falsely claimed longer distances than traveled, filing 202 fraudulent claims and receiving 1.8 million won in improper payments. Another employee submitted 129 false claims and received 1.85 million won by claiming lodging expenses without staying overnight.

In response, 12 of the 55 individuals received severe disciplinary action, five received minor disciplinary action, 11 were given cautions, and 12 received warnings.

Misconduct in purchasing and managing supplies was also confirmed. A center director exploited the rule allowing direct purchases of research materials up to 3 million won per transaction. He split purchases into 42 separate transactions totaling about 110 million won, and arranged seven payments worth 67.39 million won by dividing them into amounts under 10 million won to bypass audit procedures. In this process, most suppliers were arbitrarily selected, limiting fair competition.

Unauthorized absences also occurred. One employee, from March 2023 to May 2025, skipped work without approval or using annual leave to attend a university doctoral program. This resulted in overpayment of approximately 4.29 million won in wages for the missed days.

“The recurrence of misconduct such as fraudulent travel claims, splitting research funds for purchases, and unauthorized absences is a serious problem,” Rep. Ahn said. “This is not merely individual misconduct but demonstrates a breakdown in public service discipline within the organization and the limitations of the internal control system that failed to prevent it.”

He continued, “Thorough investigation and accountability for those responsible must precede any discussion of avoiding audits or wasting budgets. Strong measures to prevent recurrence must be established through structural institutional reforms to ensure such incidents never happen again.”