More than 260 billion won ($2.6 billion) in compensation paid by the government to victims of hit-and-run and uninsured vehicle accidents remains uncollected from responsible parties. Last year, the actual recovery rate was only about 8%.
According to data submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to lawmaker Mo Kyung-jong of the Democratic Party on October 2, the long-term uncollected receivables from the government guarantee program for automobile accident victims stood at 268.7 billion won as of the end of last year.
The government guarantee program provides compensation to victims who cannot receive insurance payouts due to hit-and-run or uninsured vehicle accidents. The government then seeks reimbursement from the responsible parties, but any amounts that cannot be recovered remain as uncollected receivables.
Last year, the total amount the government was supposed to collect was 308.3 billion won, but the actual amount collected was only 25.1 billion won, resulting in a recovery rate of 8.2%. The remaining 268.7 billion won is classified as uncollected, with 14.4 billion won deemed unrecoverable and written off as bad debt.
The scale of uncollected receivables has remained in the upper 200 billion won range for several years. Over the past five years, the uncollected receivables from the government guarantee program have fluctuated between 260 billion and 280 billion won. In 2024, the amount increased compared to the previous year, and last year’s decrease was only about 200 million won.
Despite efforts by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to recover long-term uncollected receivables, collection results have not significantly improved. The amount recovered last year decreased by approximately 359 million won compared to the previous year, while the amount written off as bad debt also fell by 3.2 billion won during the same period.
If the current recovery pace continues, it is estimated that it will take over 10 years to resolve the existing uncollected receivables. Excluding new occurrences over the past five years, the average annual resolution amount for uncollected receivables has been about 21.5 billion won, meaning it would take approximately 12.5 years to fully resolve the 268.7 billion won in uncollected amounts as of the end of last year.
Lawmaker Mo stated, "The government guarantee program is designed to quickly protect accident victims, so the claims that arise after compensation should be managed systematically. We need to promptly exercise claims against debtors with confirmed payment capabilities and timely address uncollectible debts to improve the management system for long-term uncollected receivables."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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