Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon called for greater efforts to make sure government aid for the underprivileged reaches the right people, following revelations that the killer of a middle school girl lived a luxurious life on government allowances and public donations.

The killing of the 14-year-old girl has shocked the nation as the 35-year-old killer, Lee Young-hak, became publicly known after a TV show in the 2000s portrayed him as a poor man suffering from a rare dental disease trying to eke out a living with a daughter who had the same incurable illness.

Lee earned the nickname the "molar father" after losing all but one molar while treating the disease.

However, it turned out that Lee had actually been living a luxurious life with donations he received from those who took pity on him since the airing of the TV show, as well as government allowances.

Lee has admitted to the killing and said he picked the victim to satisfy his sexual desire.

"The 'molar father' incident is a very shameful case for the administration as it showed how poorly government subsidies are executed," the prime minister said during a Cabinet meeting, noting that the killer received about 120 million won ($106,951) in government allowances even when he was collecting donations worth a total of 1.28 billion won.

He said the amount of money spent on welfare programs rose 1.5 times over the last five years and is expected to grow further, and unless fraudulent claims of government allowances aren't rooted out, it will significantly affect such programs.

"This is not a problem of yesterday or today. This is also not limited to welfare sector only," Lee said. "We've come to a point where we cannot let this problem go on any longer. All related ministries and agencies should tackle this with a determination to eradicate it."

Lee ordered ministries to launch inspections to check if subsidies reach the right people. (Yonhap)