SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jeena Kim, Kyunghwan Lee, Eunyoung Row and Bochan Kim, Bae, Kim & Lee LLC
the financial regulator or disclose material information to the exchanges pursuant to financial regulations and securities law. 6.2 Voluntary Disclosure Incentives See 4.5 Safe Harbour or Amnesty Programme . 6.3 Self-Disclosure Procedures This topic is not applicable. 6.4 Protections Afforded to Whistle-Blowers The ACRC Act and the Graft Act include provisions for protecting and incentivising whistle-blowers in cases of bribery and corruption, including those reporting corruption-related issues. Specifically, the ACRC Act contains provisions designed to protect whistle-blowers, which are mir - rored in the Graft Act. By way of illustration, the fol - lowing provisions are included in the ACRC Act. Protection Measures A reporting person may file an application for protec - tion with the ACRC. Article 62-2 of the ACRC Act A person who reports an issue and experiences or expects to experience any adverse action can request the ACRC to take the necessary steps to reinstate or protect them from such action. Such measures include reinstating or maintaining a licence, permit, contract or employment position. Article 63 of the ACRC Act If a reporting person requests reinstatement or pro - tection, it is assumed that they have experienced an adverse action. Article 64-2 of the ACRC Act If necessary, the ACRC can instruct the police to implement protective measures such as providing security guards, escorts, protective custody, surveil - lance and other similar actions to protect the whistle- blower. Exemption and Reduction Under Article 66 of the ACRC Act, if the report results in the discovery of the reporting person’s own criminal
activity, they may request an exemption from or reduc - tion of the penalties that would normally be imposed on them. Confidentiality Article 64 (1) of the ACRC Act Disclosing the personal identification details of a reporting person, or any information that could reveal their identity, is prohibited. Article 88 of the ACRC Act Violating this provision can result in five years’ impris - onment or a fine of up to KRW50 million. Taking any action that causes personal, administrative or economic harm to a reporting person is prohibited. Article 90 of the ACRC Act Violating this provision can result in three years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to KRW30 million. The Public Interest Whistle-Blower Protection Act This Act is a separate law on whistle-blowers. The Act addresses matters relating to public health and safety, the environment, consumer interests or fair competi - tion by protecting whistle-blowers who report actions subject to penalties or administrative measures under laws concerning public interest violations (protection for public interest whistle-blowing). Note that this law does not apply to general bribery and corruption under the Criminal Code, the Specific Crimes Act, the Specific Economic Crimes Act and the Graft Act. However, it covers bribery and corruption under the specified industry-oriented legislation, such as the Framework Act on the Construction Industry, the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and the Medical Devic - es Act. Specifically, the Public Interest Whistle-Blower Protection Act provides the following provisions for protection purposes. Confidentiality Articles 11 and 12 of the Public Interest Whistle- Blower Protection Act protect individuals who assist with public interest reporting in the same manner as whistle-blowers, including confidentiality and other Prohibition of Adverse Action Article 62 (1) of the ACRC Act
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