(JUNE 26, 2024) REPORT ON THE STATUS OF MEAL CARDS FOR CHILDREN AT RISK OF SCHOOL ABSENTEEISM

[Joint Government Investigation into 'School Meal Card Usage for Children at Risk of Missing Meals'] ✔Preventing Malnutrition Among Vulnerable Children...Issuing School Meal Cards ▪️Checking School Meal Card Usage...Investigation Until April This Year ✔Confirmed Instances of False Payments for the Full Amount Charged to the Cards ▪️Purchase Records of Alcohol and Tobacco Confirmed in 13 Metropolitan and Provincial Areas ▪️Confirmed Improper Use of School Meal Cards, Including Alcohol and Tobacco Purchases ▪️Confirmed Large, One-Time Purchases of Daily Necessities Such as Paper Products ✔Confirmed Usage in Inappropriate Businesses and at Inappropriate Times ▪️14% of All Cards Used in Businesses with Little Relation to Meals ▪️Late-Night Payment Amounts Account for 4.4% of Total Payments ✔Poor Management of Card Issuance and Eligibility Changes ▪️Some Local Governments Manage Cards Through Separate Systems Outside of the Happy Union System ▪️Changes in Children at Risk of Missing Meals Not Managed Properly ✔As of 2024, 17.1 Billion Won in Card Charges Have Gone Unused ▪️Concerns About Stigma When Using Cards, and Lack of Familiarity with Usage, are Major Causes [Improvement Measures] ✔Eliminate Usage for Purposes Other Than School Meals...Expand Introduction of Payment Restriction Systems ▪️Expand Payment Restriction Systems for Prohibited Items to General Supermarkets ▪️Strengthen Monitoring of Improper Use in Small Supermarkets ✔Re-Verify Registered Merchant Business Types...Restrict Usage During Late-Night Hours ▪️Merchants Who Cooperated with False Payments and Other Improper Uses Will Be Excluded ✔Strengthen Management of Changes in Eligibility for School Meal Card Issuance and Support ▪️Strengthen Notification Function for Changes in the Happy Union System ▪️Link Information Between Local Government Issuance Systems and Happy Union...Block Potential for Improper Issuance ✔Guarantee Children's Right to Meals...Strengthen Guidance on Card Usage Methods ▪️Encourage Usage Through Balance Notifications for Children with Low