Whistleblower Identity Exposure to Be Punished by Up to 5 Years Imprisonment

Chairman Eunjeong Park of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. / Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] From now on, those who expose the identity of individuals who report corruption in the public sector will be punished with imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50 million won.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) announced on the 20th that the amendment to the "Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Act" (Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Operation of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission), which strengthens the protection of whistleblowers, will be enforced starting June 11.

This follows the amendment made last December to strengthen the protection of whistleblowers to the level of the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act.

The amendment raised the penalty for violating the obligation to keep whistleblower confidentiality, such as disclosing personal information or reporting without the whistleblower's consent, from "imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million won" to "imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50 million won."

Additionally, if the ACRC requests the temporary suspension of disadvantageous measures against whistleblowers and this is not complied with, the penalty has been strengthened from "imprisonment of up to 6 months or a fine of up to 5 million won" to "imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 10 million won."

Enacted in 2001, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Act has a similar legislative intent to the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act, which was enacted 10 years later, but has been criticized for having a relatively lower level of protection for whistleblowers.

Accordingly, the ACRC revised related provisions twice in April and December last year to strongly punish disadvantageous acts against corruption whistleblowers at the level of public interest whistleblowers.

Han Samseok, Director of the Review and Protection Bureau at the ACRC, said, "We expect more courageous reports on corruption in the public sector in the future," and added, "We will devote ourselves further to protecting corruption whistleblowers and public interest whistleblowers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.