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Press Release
Corruption reporters received KRW 2.9 billion for the past 3 years
- Date2015-12-07
- Hit2,289
KRW 43.8 billion has been recovered to state coffers, and 83 corruption reporters were paid reward
The ACRC said that for the past three years, it has paid KRW 2.9 billion in reward for corruption reporters who made a disclosure of corrupt act to the Commission. Those disclosures have led to the recovery of public funds worth KRW 43.8 billion in total to the government.
In particular, the largest ever amount of reward money since the launch of the corruption report system worth approximately KRW 1.1 billion was offered this year to a corruption reporter who disclosed corruption regarding procurement of a public enterprise. In 2015, 16 reporters were paid KRW 1.38 billion in total (KRW 28.56 billion was recovered).
Since the launch of the corruption report system in 2012, the accumulative amount of reward money offered so far is KRW 8.23 billion in total for 266 reports, with KRW 95.75 billion recovered.
The area with the most amount of reward money offered was the industry and resources sector (KRW 1.56 billion), followed by the construction and transportation sector (KRW 758 million) and the public health and welfare sector (KRW 224 million). As for the number of payment of reward, the public health and welfare sector (28 cases) ranked first, with the construction and transportation sector (13 cases respectively) and the public administration and local governments (10 cases) following in order.
On October 20, the ACRC revised the "Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Anti-Corruption and the Establishment and Operation of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission" in order to reinforce the incentives for the act of reporting corruption. In detail, the maximum amount of reward money increased from KRW 2 billion to KRW 3 billion and the maximum ratio of reward money to the recovered amount of public funds was raised to 30% from 20%.
To encourage more reports on corruption in government subsidies, the ACRC is promoting the enactment of the Bill on the Prevention of False Claims of Public Funds, which is currently under review at the National Assembly. Moreover, it is also working on the revision of the Anti-Corruption Act. The revised Act would introduce the relief money for corruption reporters, extend the period of application for the payment of reward money, and build legal grounds to pay award money on the recommendation of other organizations.
The ACRC said that for the past three years, it has paid KRW 2.9 billion in reward for corruption reporters who made a disclosure of corrupt act to the Commission. Those disclosures have led to the recovery of public funds worth KRW 43.8 billion in total to the government.
In particular, the largest ever amount of reward money since the launch of the corruption report system worth approximately KRW 1.1 billion was offered this year to a corruption reporter who disclosed corruption regarding procurement of a public enterprise. In 2015, 16 reporters were paid KRW 1.38 billion in total (KRW 28.56 billion was recovered).
Since the launch of the corruption report system in 2012, the accumulative amount of reward money offered so far is KRW 8.23 billion in total for 266 reports, with KRW 95.75 billion recovered.
The area with the most amount of reward money offered was the industry and resources sector (KRW 1.56 billion), followed by the construction and transportation sector (KRW 758 million) and the public health and welfare sector (KRW 224 million). As for the number of payment of reward, the public health and welfare sector (28 cases) ranked first, with the construction and transportation sector (13 cases respectively) and the public administration and local governments (10 cases) following in order.
| By type of corrupt acts disclosed, "embezzlement and fraudulent claims of subsidies" recorded the largest number of cases with 53 reports. In terms of the amount of reward paid, KRW 1.23 billion was paid for reports of "receipt of bribes or preferential treatment for a third party by abusing public position or authority in such matters as personnel affairs, contract, procurement, construction permission/approval, etc. and the next category was "embezzlement and fraudulent claims of subsidies." An ACRC official said, "A large amount of reward was paid for reports on fraudulent claims of government subsidies because the number and range of subsidies has been expanded and the Government Welfare Fraud Report Center was opened in October 2013. This has contributed to improving public awareness of and attention toward the leakage of public funds over the course of payment of government subsidies. Therefore, now is the time for the authorities to enhance the level of monitoring and management in the execution of public subsidies." |  |
On October 20, the ACRC revised the "Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Anti-Corruption and the Establishment and Operation of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission" in order to reinforce the incentives for the act of reporting corruption. In detail, the maximum amount of reward money increased from KRW 2 billion to KRW 3 billion and the maximum ratio of reward money to the recovered amount of public funds was raised to 30% from 20%.
To encourage more reports on corruption in government subsidies, the ACRC is promoting the enactment of the Bill on the Prevention of False Claims of Public Funds, which is currently under review at the National Assembly. Moreover, it is also working on the revision of the Anti-Corruption Act. The revised Act would introduce the relief money for corruption reporters, extend the period of application for the payment of reward money, and build legal grounds to pay award money on the recommendation of other organizations.
