The Anti-corruption & Civil Rights Commission is pushing for a plan to reward whistleblowers with 30% of the amount recovered by the state from corruption cases that were about to be lost. The commission is also moving to abolish the cap on reward amounts, which had been limited to 3 billion Korean won.
The commission announced on the 14th that it will publicly notify the revised enforcement decrees of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Act, the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act, and the Public Finance Recovery Act from July 14 to August 24. During this period, the commission will gather opinions from relevant government departments regarding the amendments. Ordinary citizens can also submit their opinions through the National Participation Legislation Center (opinion.lawmaking.go.kr) and other channels. Once the revised decrees, reflecting all opinions, pass the vice-ministerial meeting and the Cabinet meeting, the enforcement decrees will be officially amended.
Currently, the reward rate varies depending on the amount recovered by the state. If the recovered amount is 100 million Korean won or less, 30% is given as a reward. However, for the portion between 100 million and 500 million Korean won, the rate is 20%; between 500 million and 2 billion Korean won, 14%; between 2 billion and 4 billion Korean won, 8%; and for amounts exceeding 4 billion Korean won, only 4% is given. The structure is such that the greater the whistleblower’s contribution, the...
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