Strengthening Whistleblower Protections (KR0065)

How the Commitment Came to be

- Received proposal through public/government contest ( October 11 to November 14, 2022 )
- Selected as a commitment during the Anti-corruption Subcommittee meeting ( March 17, 2023 )
- Development of draft by the Anti-corruption Subcommittee meeting ( April 21, 2023 )
- Discussed during the Government-Civil Joint meeting ( April 28, 2023 )
- Discussed during Open Government Week ( May 10, 2023 ) - Up for Public Feedback (Innovation 24 OGP Discussion Board) ( June 26 to July 9, 2023 )

Background

The public interest whistleblowing system is an effective system for controlling corruption throughout society as a whole, including public interest violations that occur in areas that are not easily monitored and checked by the administrative power and civil society. Korea and other major countries around the world have introduced public interest whistleblowing systems and continue to make efforts to revitalize public interest whistleblowing, but there are cases where public interest whistleblowers are not protected by law. In particular, there are still blind spots that are not protected by the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act as they are not included in the scope of public interest reporting even though they are highly relevant to the public interest. Protection and support systems are applied differently for each offense that is subject to reporting, such as corruption, infringement of public interest, fraudulent claims, fraudulent solicitation, and conflict of interest.

Details of the Commitment

Establish a system to protect and support public interest whistleblowers
- Enhance equity among whistleblower protection and support systems by improving the current legal system, which differs for each offense subject to reporting, including corruption, infringement of public interest, fraudulent claims, fraudulent solicitation, and conflict of interest*, so that whistleblowers can enjoy the same whistleblower protection and support system for reporting any corruption-related and public interest infringement.
* Violations of laws stipulated to be reported in the Act on Anti-Corruption and the Establishment and Operation of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act, Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, Public Fund Recovery Act, and the Act on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest Related to Duties of Public Servants.

Expand the range of whistleblower protection and support levels
- Expand the range of “public interest infringement” through a comprehensive regulation of public interest infringement or amendments to targeted laws that define public interest infringement.
- To eliminate blind spots regarding the public interest that are not covered by public interest whistleblowing and do not enjoy the protection and support system, laws that are not covered by public interest whistleblowing will be reviewed and included in the public interest whistleblowing if they are highly relevant to the public interest*.
* Add the law under “laws that are subject to public interest infringements” of the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act annex.
- In addition, the reason for payment of public interest report rewards has been expanded from “recovery of revenues of the central or local government” to “recovery of revenues of public institutions” and publicized to facilitate detection of public interest infringements committed by public institutions other than the central or local governments.

Potential for Result

Provide a safe environment for reporting and encourage citizen participation in anti-corruption and promote the public interest by improving the protection and support system for public interest whistleblowers and expanding the range of levels of public interest whistleblower protection and support.

Milestone Activity with a Verifiable Deliverable | Start - End

Prepare and implement a law on payment of public interest whistleblowing compensation for revenue recovery by public institutions | June 22, 2023 - Continue

Advocate for legislation to overhaul the whistleblower protection and support system | August 1, 2023 - Continue

Pursue legislation to expand laws for violations of the public interest | September 1, 2023 - Continue

Action Plan Review

Protection and Reward Policy Division of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission

For a complete description of the commitment, see Commitment 1 in the Republic of Korea’s 2023–2027 action plan: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/republic-of-korea-action-plan-2023-2027-june.

Context and objectives

This commitment aims to ensure an equal level of support to the different categories of whistleblowers, and expand protection and financial aid. It was proposed by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) and carries forward efforts from the previous action plan. The commitment continues a legislative trajectory that started with the 2008 Anti-Corruption Act, which guides public sector whistleblowing on corruption, and the 2011 Protection of Public Interest Reporters Act, which guides private sector whistleblowing on public interest violation. [1] Over a decade of reforms have been gradually strengthening other protection measures for whistleblowers, including banning the disclosure of their personal information, provision of police protection, and prohibition of dismissal or financial loss because of whistleblowing. Correspondingly, the number of whistleblowers receiving protection increased from 2011 to 2023, along with increases in rewards and relief funds to cover losses incurred as a result of whistleblowing. [2]

Potential for results: Modest

This commitment could modestly advance public accountability by continuing amendments to whistleblower legislation. It intends to amend the Protection of Public Interest Reporters Act to expand the basis for payment of public interest whistleblower rewards from “recovery of revenues of the central or local government” to “recovery of revenues of public institutions.” ACRC has also reported its intention to add 19 laws to the Act’s list of laws that are subject to public interest whistleblower protection—currently 492 laws, up from 180 in 2011. [3] In addition, the commitment would amend five laws covering different types of whistleblower reports to unify compensation standards, specifically the (1) Protection of Public Interest Reporters Act, (2) Anti-Corruption Act, (3) Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, which covers fraudulent solicitations, (4) Public Fund Recovery Act, which covers fraudulent claims, and (5) Prevention of Conflict of Interest Related to Duties of Public Servants Act, which covers conflicts of interest. This would offer an equal level of support to different types of whistleblowers. According to the ACRC, [4] Transparency International Korea, [5] the National Assembly, [6] and several private lawyers, [7] the legislative amendments targeted by this commitment would contribute to rationalizing whistleblower protection, encouraging whistleblower reporting, and combating corruption.

Existing legislative measures have already increased whistleblower reports and corresponding anti-corruption cases. Whistleblower reports increased from 2,821 in 2011 (2,529 in corruption cases and 292 in public interest violations) to 9,858 in 2023 (6,853 in corruption cases and 3,005 in public interest violations). Since the establishment of the former Korea Independent Commission against Corruption (predecessor to ACRC) in 2002 through the end of 2023, corruption whistleblowing has led to the prosecution of 5,579 individuals and disciplinary action against 5,592 individuals. Since the promulgation of the 2011 Protection of Public Interest Reporters Act to the end of 2023, 11,434 cases of public interest violation cases have been confirmed and investigated—out of 23,962 whistleblower reports. [8]

On the other hand, as noted by Transparency International Korea and Justice Solidarity, further efforts are needed to substantially strengthen whistleblower protection. [9] According to People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, one-third of the whistleblowers who were granted protective measures were still penalized, as 1 of 3 prescribed protective measures inspected by the ACRC for the period of May 2019–April 2021 had not been implemented. In the same period, only 5 of 31 inspected cases of institutions failing to implement the prescribed protection measures resulted in the actual imposition of enforcement penalties by the ACRC. [10] Meanwhile, the processing times and withdrawal rates of whistleblower protection cases have been increasing since 2019, [11] though the number of applications for protection has remained steady. [12] Korea’s defamation law also remains a key obstacle, as corrupt actors deter charges against themselves using the threat of criminal prosecution for defamation, and penalties can be imposed for disclosing even factual information. [13]

Transparency International Korea advises that in addition to legislative strengthening, the Republic of Korea takes action to strengthen compliance with, enforcement of, and general society-wide respect for the whistleblower system. [14] Otherwise, the proposed legislative amendments will yield modest gains in promoting whistleblowing and anti-corruption.

Opportunities, challenges, and recommendations during implementation

This commitment offers an opportunity to continue closing the gaps in whistleblower protection legislation. However, legislative protections must be accompanied by stronger implementation, enforcement, and longer-term cultural acceptance of whistleblowers as protectors of public interests. To address these social and cultural dynamics, the following recommendations could enhance this commitment: