The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has overhauled its whistleblower reward system to encourage internal reporting of large-scale cartel cases. By eliminating the previous 3 billion won cap on rewards and revising the system to pay up to 10% of the fine, rewards in the hundreds of billions of won have now become possible.
The FTC said Wednesday that it had prepared an amendment to the "Regulations on the Payment of Rewards to Reporters of Violations of the Fair Trade Act and Other Laws (Reward Notice)" and would implement it starting Thursday.
The core of this revision is the elimination of the reward cap. Previously, the larger the fine, the lower the reward payment rate, and the maximum payout was limited to 3 billion won. Going forward, up to 10% can be paid as a reward regardless of the size of the fine.
The FTC cited the recently uncovered flour cartel case involving milling companies as an example. The total fine in that case amounted to 671 billion won, and the FTC explained that a reporter who provides key evidence and receives the highest evaluation could receive a reward of up to 67.1 billion won.
The method of paying rewards will also change. Going forward, when a fine is first paid into the national treasury, the basic reward will be paid first, and after appeal procedures such as litigation are completed and the fine is finalized, the remaining reward can be additionally paid.
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