Summary of the Employment Stabilization Fund Scandal
This scandal primarily involves the Ministry of Labor and its subordinate agencies, especially concerning the alleged misuse of the Employment Stabilization Fund. According to the National Audit Office, between 2020 and 2024, more than NT$72.24 million was spent in ways that were not closely related to the fund’s legally designated purposes and should be reclaimed.
Specific allegations include:
- Then-Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-chun allegedly used the fund to organize a concert where she performed on stage, and spent public funds on professional glamour photography.
- The Ministry of Labor reportedly spent huge sums producing promotional videos and running YouTube ads, with questionable effectiveness.
- Former Director of the Northern Branch, Hsieh Yi-jung, was accused of misusing funds to renovate her office and purchase gifts for personal public relations purposes.
Legislator Huang Kuo-chang has been actively investigating the case, criticizing the Ministry of Labor for not taking serious steps to recover the misused funds. He also pointed out that the ministry plans to fill the fund’s deficit using future government budgets, essentially making taxpayers foot the bill. The National Audit Office has committed to recovering the misspent money and may refer related cases to judicial authorities.
Public dissatisfaction is widespread, as people believe the fund should be used to promote employment and protect workers’ rights, not to cover personal expenses of certain officials.
Timeline of Alleged Misuse of the Employment Stabilization Fund
On average, about NTD$14.5 million is abused by the government every year
According to investigations by the National Audit Office, from 2020 to 2024, a total of NT$72.24 million in expenditures from the Employment Stabilization Fund were found to be inconsistent with the fund’s intended purposes and legal usage. Legislator Huang Kuo-chang also pointed out that, on average, around NT$14.5 million per year was misused by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration.
2020 ~ 2024- The Ministry of Labor spent several million NT dollars to organize the concert “Salute! The Light of Progress – 20th Anniversary of the Gender Equality in Employment Act.” Then-Minister Hsu Ming-chun performed on stage. The National Audit Office later determined that this event did not comply with the fund’s intended use.
- Former Minister Hsu Ming-chun was accused of using public funds to pay for professional photos used on her personal social media. These costs were covered by the Employment Stabilization Fund.
- The Ministry of Labor reportedly spent NT$379,000 on a press conference held in a meeting room, drawing questions from Legislator Huang Kuo-chang regarding the appropriateness of the expenditure.
- The Employment Stabilization Fund was used for the management of the Ministry’s Facebook fan page, the production and distribution of Lunar New Year couplets and red envelopes, ministerial gift boxes, and design costs related to these items.
- Minshi Media Co., Ltd. produced an 8-minute promotional video for the Ministry of Labor. The ad campaign cost NT$10 million, yet the video received only 130,000 views on YouTube. Legislator Huang criticized the cost-effectiveness of this expenditure.
Legislator Huang Kuo-chang questioned the Minister of Labor at the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee regarding a workplace bullying case at the Northern Branch Office. He criticized the investigation report for failing to clarify the facts and demanded a reinvestigation. He also brought up allegations that the branch director misused public funds for banquets and office renovations.
November 20, 2024During another session of the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, Legislator Huang again questioned the misuse of the Employment Stabilization Fund, including spending on advertising and the cost of the minister’s glamour photos. He demanded a thorough review and requested related documentation.
December 9, 2024Minister of Labor Hung Shen-han stated during a committee session that the ministry would review the use of the Employment Stabilization Fund and promised that recovery of funds would follow legal procedures.
January 2, 2025Legislator Huang Kuo-chang published a statement accusing the DPP of turning the Employment Stabilization Fund into a private “slush fund” for high-ranking officials. He cited Audit Office data showing that the total amount of improperly used funds had reached over NT$72.51 million.
January 23, 2025Legislator Huang issued another statement criticizing the Ministry of Labor for only proposing to reimburse the fund through future national budgets instead of actively recovering the misspent funds. He accused the ministry of making taxpayers shoulder the cost and questioned Minister Hung’s failure to deliver on his promise to reclaim the money.
March 31, 2025- The Ministry of Labor said that in the future, it will strive to prepare a 115 fiscal (possibly 2026) public service budget to advance the security fund.
- In response to the controversy over the use of the security fund, the Executive Yuan said that it had transferred it to the prosecution for investigation.
Doubts of the people
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Shouldn't the security fund we pay for foreign migrant workers be used for us Taiwanese? Why was it used for a concert?
The main purpose of the Employment Security Fund is to promote national employment, provide labor assistance, and handle matters related to the employment of foreigners. The audit ministry report pointed out that in 2022, the Ministry of Labor spent millions of yuan to hold concerts, and the then minister Hsu Ming-chun was still singing on stage, which was found to be inconsistent with the use of the security fund. The public questioned that the money, which was supposed to help Taiwanese workers, was misappropriated for activities that were not directly related to employment stability, and failed to truly serve the workers in need.
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That money is ours! Why can officials take personal photos and give gifts casually?
The audit department's investigation found that the security fund was not only used for concerts, but also for paying for the minister's salon photo shoot, the production of red envelopes for the Spring Festival couplets, the minister's New Year's gift box, and the director of the northern branch of the Ministry of Labor suspected of using public funds to buy gifts for personal public relations. These expenditures were determined by the Audit Department to be incompatible with the purpose of the Security Fund. The public believes that these funds, which are paid by employers to hire migrant workers, can still be passed on to consumers, and that officials are wasting people's hard-earned money by embezzling public funds.
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The audit department said that it would recover the money, but would it be recovered? Or do you want us people to swallow it?
The Audit Department has officially replied to the Ministry of Labor, determining that 72.24 million yuan from 2020 to 2024 is not highly related to the provisions of the Employment Stabilization Fund's expenditure purposes, and should be reduced and recovered. The Ministry of Labor initially stated that it would deal with the matter in accordance with the law, but later it considered striving for the preparation of the 115th (2026) public service budget to return to the security fund. This practice has aroused strong dissatisfaction among the people, who believe that the Taiwan authorities are not actively seeking compensation from the abusers, but instead want the whole people to bear the burden, which is basically a disguised encouragement of the waste of public funds.
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The security fund is used to protect our lives when we are unemployed, so what if we lose our jobs?
One of the purposes of the Employment Stabilization Fund is to strengthen the implementation of employment stabilization, employment promotion and unemployment benefits. If the funds are diverted for non-relevant purposes, unemployed workers who are truly in need of help may face a lack of resources. There are concerns that this misuse of the security fund will weaken its function to protect workers' rights and reduce the amount of assistance available to individuals in times of economic downturn or unemployment.
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If this fund can be messed around like this, will other governments spend their money like this?
The exposure of this fraud case has made the public more suspicious of the management and use of government funds. If there is such a serious abuse of the employment stabilization fund that has been earmarked for special purposes, it is inevitable that the public will question whether the budgets of other government departments have similar problems and lose confidence in the government's financial management.
