Lee Eun-ha's 13 Million Won Survivor Pension Canceled, Yet Full Amount Remains Unrecovered

Lee Eun-ha, sentenced to life imprisonment for the "valley murder" case, has still not returned a single won of the roughly 13 million won in survivor's pension she received after her husband's death, even after her pension eligibility was revoked, it was confirmed on the 11th. According to data from the National Pension Service released by Democratic Party Rep. Kim Kyo-heung at the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, Lee applied for the survivor's pension immediately after her husband's death in 2019 and received about 13 million won — 460,000 won per month for 28 months.

The National Pension Service revoked Lee's pension eligibility in 2023 based on a Supreme Court ruling, but explained that recovery through seizure or enforced collection has been difficult because Lee has been imprisoned for a long period and no assets in her name could be identified.

Lee's case is not the only unrecovered sum. Over the past five years, 34 cases of fraudulent survivor's pension claims were uncovered, totaling around 400 million won. Of that, only about 230 million won was actually recovered, a recovery rate of 56.3 percent.

There were also cases of prolonged false reporting. In one case, a spouse who left the country in 2001 was reported as deceased, allowing about 96 million won to be collected over 22 years across 273 months; the fraud was uncovered after the person returned to Korea in 2023.

Under the National Pension Act, survivors who intentionally cause a subscriber's death have their pension eligibility restricted, and wrongfully received benefits are subject to recovery. This unrecovered case has significant implications for the effectiveness of the service's recovery efforts.

Rep. Kim pointed out the need for institutional reform, saying, "Fraudulent claimants must be tracked down to the end and every won recovered so that subscribers who faithfully pay their premiums are not victimized."