SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jeena Kim, Kyunghwan Lee, Eunyoung Row and Bochan Kim, Bae, Kim & Lee LLC
Clarification of notification timing for protection and support measures Administrative agencies, supervisory bodies and investigative authorities with oversight of or regula - tory powers over public interest violations must notify whistle-blowers about protection and support meas - ures at the time of receiving or transferring a whis - tle-blower report to a competent investigative body. Public organisations, including public corporations established under related laws, must provide similar notifications when accepting whistle-blower reports. Removal of the cap on compensation for internal whistle-blowers To encourage whistle-blowing, the previous cap of KRW3 billion on compensation for internal whistle- blowers has been eliminated. Amendments to the Whistle-Blower Protection Act (Amended on and Effective as of 27 February 2024) An additional 19 acts have been designated as fall - ing under the scope of public interest violation acts, including: • the National Finance Act; • the Industrial Cluster Development and Factory Establishment Act; and • the Act on the Management of Subsidies for Local Governments. 2. Bribery and Corruption Elements 2.1 Bribery The Criminal Code does not explicitly define the term “bribery”, but it does distinguish between receiving and offering bribes. The term has been interpreted broadly to cover any valuable benefits received by the recipient, including money and other types of tangible and intangible advantages, such as gifts and acts of hospitality. Receiving Bribes The act of receiving bribes includes: • receiving bribes in connection with the person’s duties;
when the ACRC subrogates and exercises the right to claim damages after disbursing relief funds. Amendments to the Enforcement Decree of the Public Interest Whistle-Blower Protection Act (Amended on 30 July 2024, and effective as of 7 August 2024) In connection with the foregoing amendments to the Public Interest Whistle-Blower Protection Act, the Enforcement Decree for the Act was also updated to provide a legal foundation for implementing delegated matters and for ensuring effective enforcement of the Act, specifically as follows. Procedure for payment of legal aid costs to lawyers assisting internal whistle-blowers When a lawyer applies for legal aid costs for assisting an internal whistle-blower, they must submit evidence proving the assistance provided. The ACRC will review the application and determine whether to approve the payment, and will decide on the payment items and amount. The decision will then be communicated to the applicant. Recovery criteria and procedure for illegally obtained legal aid costs Full recovery of legal aid costs is required if the pay - ment was obtained through false or fraudulent means. Costs received for the same reason multiple times will also be fully recovered. Costs mistakenly paid due to errors will be fully recovered as well. Upon identifying recovery grounds, the ACRC will notify the lawyer in writing, detailing: • the reason for recovery; • the recoverable amount, including interest; • the total amount due; • the payment deadline; and • the payment method. The deadline for payment will be at least 30 days from the notification date.
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