Presidential Security Service Purchases Gift Certificates Worth 45.9 Million Won Under the Pretext of Birthday Celebrations

It has been confirmed that the Presidential Security Service (PSS) has purchased a total of 45.9 million won worth of gift certificates this year for the purpose of celebrating employees' birthdays. This has raised concerns as it contradicts the 'Restraint on Cash-like Gifts' guideline applicable to public institutions, yet the PSS maintains that there are no issues with the relevant regulations.

According to an aggregation of News1 reports on the 25th, the PSS posted a bid announcement on the national electronic procurement system 'Nara Market' on the 6th of last month for the purchase of gift certificates to encourage employees in 2025. The items to be purchased include 4,590 units of 10,000 won worth of cultural gift certificates, totaling 45.9 million won.

The bidding conditions included a clause requiring delivery to be completed within three days after a delivery request. It has been confirmed that a company located in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, submitted a bid of 44.41 million won and was ultimately selected as the winning bidder.

Repetitive Budget Execution Annually…Amount Increased Compared to 2020

The purchase of gift certificates has been repeated annually since 2020. At that time, the PSS purchased gift certificates worth 40 million won, and since then, the amount executed has slightly increased each year, reaching 45.9 million won this year.

The PSS has been issuing gift certificates in the name of the head of the institution to employees celebrating their birthdays since 2018. Some critics have raised concerns that cash-like employee benefits through government budgets may be exceeding reasonable limits.

The government has restricted the practice of providing cash-like gifts on various commemorative days, such as Labor Day, through the 'Management Normalization Plan Operation Guidelines' issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance in 2013.

Public Institutions 'Prohibited,' Government Departments 'Permitted'…Differences in Organizational Nature

However, the PSS is classified as a government department under the Government Organization Act and is not directly subject to the application of that guideline. Unlike public institutions, government departments are allowed to provide small gift certificates through welfare expenses.

In fact, the 'Guidelines for the Execution of the 2025 Budget and Fund Operations Plan' announced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance in January this year includes a provision allowing "the head of the institution to provide small gift certificates or cakes on the birthdays of affiliated employees."

However, the National Assembly has raised issues regarding the transparency of the PSS's budget execution. In November 2022, at the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Settlement, Representative Hwang Bo-seung of the People Power Party pointed out that the PSS failed to submit documentation specifying the recipients and dates, stating, "It is even questionable whether the payments were actually made to the employees."

In response, Deputy Chief Choi Yun-ho of the PSS explained at the time, "It is difficult to specify details due to concerns over the exposure of security operations."

A PSS official stated regarding the controversy, "Since 2018, we have been providing gift certificates in the name of the head of the institution to boost morale among our employees," and emphasized, "We are executing the budget legally in compliance with the Ministry of Economy and Finance's guidelines."

Image source: Park Jong-jun, former head of the PSS / News1, Kim Seong-hoon, former deputy head of the PSS / News1