Five Laws on Corruption and Public Interest Reporting Integrated Centered on the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act

The Anti-Corruption and Public Interest Commission Announces Key Work Plans for 2022 in Corruption and Public Interest Reporting

Priority Recognition of Whistleblower Status Before Final Protection Measures Decision
Abolishment of 3 Billion KRW Maximum Compensation Cap... Strengthening Whistleblower Rewards

Kim Ki-seon, Director of the Examination Protection Bureau at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, briefs on the 2022 key business promotion plan of the Examination Protection Bureau on the 6th at the Government Sejong Complex in Sejong City. (Photo by Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) has decided to integrate the protection and compensation regulations for whistleblowers under five laws (the Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers, the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, the Act on the Recovery of Public Funds, and the Act on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest) into a single law to enhance fairness. For socially controversial issues, whistleblower status will be recognized and announced proactively even before the ACRC’s protection measures are decided, providing preemptive protection. The level of compensation for whistleblowers will also be expanded to enable substantial rewards and support for whistleblowers reporting corruption and public interest violations.

On the 6th, the ACRC announced its 2022 plan for promoting corruption and public interest reporting, protection, and compensation based on these contents. This plan supplements the key tasks related to corruption and public interest reporting that were included in the New Year’s work report disclosed on December 29 last year.

First, the whistleblower protection and compensation regulations scattered across the five laws will be unified based on the current 'Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers.' This aims to secure consistency and fairness in protection and compensation standards and prevent confusion in the application of laws.

To create an environment where whistleblowers can report with confidence, the ACRC will recognize whistleblower status as a priority if reporting requirements are met, even before the final protection decision is made. The policy is to provide provisional protection measures and proactively protect whistleblowers. Starting in July, to strengthen whistleblower confidentiality, an anonymous proxy reporting system will be introduced for corruption reports, similar to public interest reports. In particular, the ACRC plans to significantly strengthen whistleblower compensation, including pursuing the abolition of the current maximum compensation cap of 3 billion KRW for corruption and public interest reports. The compensation payment rate will be improved from the current tiered system (4-30% for corruption reports and 4-20% for public interest reports) to a fixed rate of 30%.

Additionally, the ACRC will work on legal and system improvements to prevent leakage of public funds. Through amendments to the Act on the Recovery of Public Funds, the scope of the law will be expanded to include fraudulent claims in contract relationships involving large-scale public funds, aiming to eliminate blind spots in the recovery system. This addresses institutional limitations where it is difficult to recover large damages caused by major military supply and defense industry corruption or construction company collusion under current laws. The plan also includes improving transparency by analyzing and disclosing the recovery status relative to the scale of public fund payments by each institution.

Kim Gi-seon, Director of the Review and Protection Bureau at the ACRC, said, "This year, we will handle corruption and public interest reports more swiftly and fairly, and completely overhaul the protection and compensation system from the whistleblower’s perspective to effectively respond to corruption in both public and private sectors," adding, "We will actively meet the heightened expectations of the public."

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