The Horuragi Foundation, a nonprofit supporting whistleblowers, named three recipients of this year’s Horuragi Award on Tuesday, including Moon Ji-seok — the prosecutor who publicly revealed pressure from a senior colleague during his probe into unpaid wages for retail giant Coupang’s workers.
Moon came forward in October, alleging that a senior prosecutor had sought to improperly influence his investigation into Coupang’s non-payment of severance pay. Testifying at a parliamentary hearing, he said prosecution leadership instructed him to close the case with a no-charge decision.
The case had initially been referred to prosecutors by the Bucheon branch of the Gyeonggi Regional Employment and Labor Office in January with a recommendation for indictment. But in April, the Bucheon branch of the Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office dismissed it, citing insufficient grounds.
Moon who was in charge of the case at the time, later broke down in tears, saying he hoped “public officials who engaged in unlawful conduct will face appropriate consequences.”
He was transferred to Gwangju in August, something Moon claims is connected to his handling of the case.
Other awardees include Dankook University professor Kim Do-hyung, known for revealing alleged misconduct within the cult Jesus Morning Star, and an anonymous whistleblower who disclosed illegal animal testing at veterinary pharmaceutical firm Huvet.
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