SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jeena Kim, Kyunghwan Lee, Eunyoung Row and Bochan Kim, Bae, Kim & Lee LLC
1. Legal Framework 1.1 International Conventions South Korea has signed up to the following: • the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (the “UN Anti-Corruption Convention”); • the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (the “OECD Anti-Bribery Conven - tion”); and • as a member of the Financial Action Task Force. 1.2 National Legislation In South Korea, bribery and corruption are governed by criminal law. The Criminal Code establishes the primary framework for addressing these offences, encompassing both public officials and private indi - viduals. The Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (the “Specific Crimes Act”) and the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (the “Specific Economic Crimes Act”) also address matters relating to bribery and corruption. The Crimi - nal Procedure Act defines the processes for investi - gating and prosecuting such cases. Specific laws targeting bribery and corruption include: • the Code of Conduct for Public Officials of Korea (CoC); • the Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of the Anti-Cor - ruption and Civil Rights Commission (the “ACRC Act”); • the Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions Act (FBPA); and • the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act (the “Graft Act”), commonly also known as the “Kim Young- ran Act”. Moreover, certain industries have sector-specific regulations that allow the exchange of benefits under specified conditions. These include:
• the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors (regu - lated by the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and the Medical Devices Act); • insurance (under the Insurance Business Act); • financial investments (governed by the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act); and • defence (regulated by the Code of Conduct of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration). 1.3 Guidelines for the Interpretation and Enforcement of National Legislation To clarify the permissible and prohibited actions under the Graft Act, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) website regularly publishes and updates resources, such as Graft Act commentary, significant rulings and decisions related to the Act, manuals and administrative rulings. 1.4 Recent Key Amendments to National Legislation Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Graft Act (Amended on and Effective as of 27 August 2024) The Enforcement Decree of the Graft Act was amend - ed to increase the maximum amount expendable for public officials for a meal from KRW30,000 to KRW50,000. The increase was to reflect the changed socio-economic conditions, including inflation, since the ceiling for these expenses was initially set about 20 years ago (in 2003) under the CoC. Amendments to the Public Interest Whistle-Blower Protection Act (Amended on 6 February 2024, and effective as of 7 August 2024) The Act was amended to: • provide coverage in connection with legal assis - tance costs for internal whistle-blowers; • remove the cap on the compensation that can be awarded to whistle-blowers (compensation is now based on a certain percentage (up to 30%) of the financial benefit accrued by the public institution or the amount legally confirmed as a result of the relevant report); and • establish a legal basis to allow the ACRC to verify the ability of a party responsible for causing dam - age or incurring expenses to pay compensation,
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