SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jeena Kim, Kyunghwan Lee, Eunyoung Row and Bochan Kim, Bae, Kim & Lee LLC
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 maintain - ing a licence, permit, contract or employment position. Article 63 of the ACRC Act If a reporting person requests reinstatement or protection, it is assumed that they have experi - enced an adverse action. Article 64(2) of the ACRC Act If necessary, the ACRC can instruct the police to implement protective measures such as provid - ing security guards, escorts, protective custody, surveillance 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 per - son’s own criminal activity, they may request an exemption from or reduction 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’ imprisonment or a fine of up to KRW50 million.
Prohibition of Adverse Action Article 62(1) of the ACRC Act
Taking any action that causes personal, admin - istrative 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. This act addresses matters relating to public health and safety, the environment, consumer interests or fair competition by protecting whis - tle-blowers who report actions subject to penal - ties or administrative measures under laws con - cerning 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, Specific Crimes Act, Specific Economic Crimes Act and Graft Act. However, it covers bribery and corruption under the specified industry-oriented legislation, such as the Framework Act on the Construction Industry, Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and Medical Devices 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 confiden - tiality and other protections. If whistle-blowers, their co-operators or their relatives/household members suffer or are at risk of harm due to the public interest report, their personal information
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