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92% say "I will report a public-interest violation"
- Date2015-01-08
- Hit2,439
September 29, 2014
ACRC publishes survey results on public interest whistleblowing
According to the ACRC's survey, 92% of the respondents replied they "will report" an act that infringes on the health and safety of the public, and the environment, such as unlicensed medical practices, faulty construction works, and illegal landfill, showing the people's keen interest in social security issues.
In addition, most respondents had positive perceptions of public interest whistleblowers. The largest number of the respondents regarded them as "brave conscience" (55.9%) followed by "power to change the world" (31.5%), while a few people perceived them as "paparazzi" (6.2%) and "betrayer of an organization" (2.9%).
The survey was conducted by the ACRC on e-People (www.epeople.go.kr) from September 1 to 21, in commemoration of the 3rd anniversary of the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers. A total of 1,279 respondents participated in this survey.
The Act, which entered into force on September 30, 2011, is aimed to protect and to support those who report an act infringing on the public interest, such as the health and safety of the public, the environment, consumer interests, and fair competition.
The ACRC received 9,695 public interest whistleblowing reports for the past 3 years since the implementation of the Act. With the number of public interest whistleblowing reports surging every year, "public health" was the area with the largest number of such reports, recording 292 in 2011, 1,153 in 2012, 2,876 in 2013, and 5,374 in Jan. – Sep. 2014.
The survey results indicated that the biggest obstacle to public interest whistleblowing is the possible disclosure of the whistleblower's identity and disadvantages following such disclosure. Among those who said that they will not report public interest violation (8%), 29.3% cited "possible disadvantages resulting from whistleblowing" as the biggest reason for their unwillingness to report, followed by "possible disclosure of the whistleblower's personal identity" (28%), "ineffectiveness of whistleblowing" (26%), and "ignorance of how to report" (11.3%).
In the survey, most respondents said "full protection for whistleblowers" (51.5%) and "improvement of public awareness of whistleblowers" (22.9%) are needed to promote public interest whistleblowing.
About the whistleblowing for the purpose of receiving reward money, 73.2% of the respondents said "it is desirable even if the whistleblowing was made for reward money." However, there were negative opinions like "such whistleblowing cannot be considered as public interest whistleblowing" (22.8%) or "an increasing number of such whistleblowing may cause side effects" (2.5%), indicating that countermeasures should be made.
An ACRC official said, "To promote and improve the public interest whistleblowing system, the ACRC will actively follow up on the opinions that it is necessary to strengthen the protection of public interest whistleblowers, to improve public awareness causing disadvantages for whistleblowers, and to take countermeasures for the prevention of side effects resulting from the overreaching reports for reward money."
ACRC publishes survey results on public interest whistleblowing
According to the ACRC's survey, 92% of the respondents replied they "will report" an act that infringes on the health and safety of the public, and the environment, such as unlicensed medical practices, faulty construction works, and illegal landfill, showing the people's keen interest in social security issues.
In addition, most respondents had positive perceptions of public interest whistleblowers. The largest number of the respondents regarded them as "brave conscience" (55.9%) followed by "power to change the world" (31.5%), while a few people perceived them as "paparazzi" (6.2%) and "betrayer of an organization" (2.9%).
The survey was conducted by the ACRC on e-People (www.epeople.go.kr) from September 1 to 21, in commemoration of the 3rd anniversary of the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers. A total of 1,279 respondents participated in this survey.
The Act, which entered into force on September 30, 2011, is aimed to protect and to support those who report an act infringing on the public interest, such as the health and safety of the public, the environment, consumer interests, and fair competition.
The ACRC received 9,695 public interest whistleblowing reports for the past 3 years since the implementation of the Act. With the number of public interest whistleblowing reports surging every year, "public health" was the area with the largest number of such reports, recording 292 in 2011, 1,153 in 2012, 2,876 in 2013, and 5,374 in Jan. – Sep. 2014.
The survey results indicated that the biggest obstacle to public interest whistleblowing is the possible disclosure of the whistleblower's identity and disadvantages following such disclosure. Among those who said that they will not report public interest violation (8%), 29.3% cited "possible disadvantages resulting from whistleblowing" as the biggest reason for their unwillingness to report, followed by "possible disclosure of the whistleblower's personal identity" (28%), "ineffectiveness of whistleblowing" (26%), and "ignorance of how to report" (11.3%).
In the survey, most respondents said "full protection for whistleblowers" (51.5%) and "improvement of public awareness of whistleblowers" (22.9%) are needed to promote public interest whistleblowing.
About the whistleblowing for the purpose of receiving reward money, 73.2% of the respondents said "it is desirable even if the whistleblowing was made for reward money." However, there were negative opinions like "such whistleblowing cannot be considered as public interest whistleblowing" (22.8%) or "an increasing number of such whistleblowing may cause side effects" (2.5%), indicating that countermeasures should be made.
An ACRC official said, "To promote and improve the public interest whistleblowing system, the ACRC will actively follow up on the opinions that it is necessary to strengthen the protection of public interest whistleblowers, to improve public awareness causing disadvantages for whistleblowers, and to take countermeasures for the prevention of side effects resulting from the overreaching reports for reward money."
