SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jeena Kim, Kyunghwan Lee, Eunyoung Row and Bochan Kim, Bae, Kim & Lee LLC
may be omitted from investigation and criminal procedure records. In turn, disclosing, sharing or reporting personal information of whistle-blowers or co-operators, or any details that could reveal their identity, is strictly prohibited. Violations of these provisions may result in imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to KRW50 million. Protection of personal safety Article 13 of the Public Interest Whistle-Blower Protection Act states that whistle-blowers, their co-operators or their relatives/household mem - bers may request personal protection measures if there is clear evidence that they have suffered or are at significant risk of serious harm to their life or physical safety due to the public interest report. Liability reduction Articles 14 and 16 of the Public Interest Whis - tle-Blower Protection Act state that, if a whis - tle-blower or their co-operator is found to have committed a criminal act related to the public interest report, they may be eligible for sentence reduction or exemption. If the public interest report contains confidential information related to their duties, it is considered that the duty to maintain confidentiality under laws, collective agreements or employment rules has not been violated. Claims for damages by the person being reported as a result of the public interest report are prohibited. Prohibition of retaliatory actions Article 15 of the Public Interest Whistle-Blower Protection Act prohibits taking retaliatory actions based on public interest reports; interference with or coercion to cancel a public interest report
is also prohibited. Violations of this provision may result in imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to KRW50 million. 6.5 Incentives Provided to Whistle- Blowers The ACRC Act The ACRC Act (Article 68) and Graft Act (Article 15) contain nearly identical provisions to incen - tivise whistle-blowers, as follows. Compensation A reporting person can request compensation from the ACRC of up to KRW3 billion if their report leads to income recovery, increased rev - enue or reduced expenses for a public institu - tion, or if it provides facts towards achieving such results. Financial Reward If reporting results in significant financial benefit or prevents financial loss to a public institution, or if it otherwise promotes any public interest, the ACRC may provide a reward (or recom - mend a reward) to the reporting person of up to KRW500 million. Relief Money The ACRC may provide relief money to reporting individuals, their relatives, cohabitants or those who have assisted in related audits or investiga - tions. This assistance covers various expenses or damages incurred due to the report, including: • costs for physical or mental treatment; • moving expenses related to office transfer or dispatched service; • legal procedure expenses for litigation filed based on the report; and • compensation for wage loss during a period of disadvantageous measures.
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