Description
The task of strengthening the protection and support for anti-corruption public interest whistleblowers aims to amend five laws, each defining various types of whistleblowing, so that whistleblowers are guaranteed the same level of support and receive expanded protection and financial assistance. The basic approach is to align the levels of protection and support under two main frameworks: the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Act (enacted in 2001, covering public-sector corruption reports) and the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers (enacted in 2011, covering private-sector public interest violations). The other three laws—the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, the Act on the Recovery of Public Funds, and the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act—are regulatory statutes addressing public-sector corruption. Therefore, to ensure consistency, these three laws will adopt the standards set forth in the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Act. Through this approach, any report of corruption or a public interest violation will receive the same level of protection and support, thereby achieving not only formal coherence among the five laws but also substantially contributing to the rationality and fairness of protecting and supporting public interest whistleblowers.
Although this is not listed as a national agenda item, it is a nationwide undertaking and a government-wide task for sustainable development. As the first of ten commitments in the Open Government Action Plan, it incorporates the Open Government perspective and has been evaluated by the Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) in its review of the 2023-2027 Republic of Korea action plan as a promising initiative with clear potential for achieving results. The IRM noted that, in addition to legislative efforts, improved enforcement of systems protecting public interest whistleblowers and societal attitude shifts are necessary to enhance its anti-corruption potential.
Interest in strengthening whistleblower protection and support is growing. The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea has introduced various bills, and government audits have called for measures to expand substantive protections for whistleblowers. Internationally, protecting whistleblowers is a key priority. In September 2024, the Ministry of Justice co-authored the first national report under the UN Convention on Enforced Disappearance and submitted opinions on remedies and protections under the Public Interest Whistleblowers Act. In November 2024, whistleblower-related opinions were shared during the Korea-UK FTA negotiations’ third anti-corruption chapter. Additionally, the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre expressed interest in prioritizing this topic for its 2025 anti-corruption capacity-building project. Specifically, during the December 2024 ACRC–UNDP meeting, both sides specifically discussed partner country selection and support strategies to establish a mature whistleblowing culture based on comparative analyses.
The Problem
This initiative carries forward the efforts made under the Fifth Open Government Action Plan (2021–2023) and aims to amend portions of the legislative trajectory that, despite gradual strengthening for the protection and support of anti-corruption public interest whistleblowing, still leave gaps unaddressed. The most pressing public issue is ensuring fairness among whistleblowers. The five anti-corruption laws administered by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission have different provisions related to whistleblower protection and support—due to variations in legislative timing, purposes, and regulatory scopes—and four of these laws overlap in coverage. As a result, the level and availability of protection and support can differ depending on which law applies to a given whistleblowing case. For instance, a fraudulent claim under the Act on the Recovery of Public Funds can also fall under the Subsidy Management Act, creating inefficiencies and unpredictability. Standardizing whistleblower protection provisions aims to increase legal consistency and restore public trust.
Another focus is eliminating blind spots where reports with high public-interest relevance are excluded from legal protection because the conduct is not specified among targeted violations. The Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers categorizes public interest violations into six areas, which include acts harmful to public health, safety, the environment, consumer rights, fair competition, or other equivalent public interests. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission has consistently worked on legislation to expand the range of laws covered under public interest whistleblowing. As of January 3, 2025, 494 statutes now fall under the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers. Moving forward, the Commission plans to continue reviewing laws currently not included and to incorporate those deemed highly relevant to public interest whistleblowing.
Over the long term, the initiative also aims to address lingering negative perceptions of public interest whistleblowing. In our society, whistleblowers—despite their significance—are still often marginalized. Negative labels such as “traitor” or “misfit” persist, underscoring the need for stronger protection and support. Formulating policies that incorporate whistleblowers’ input and encouraging broader citizen participation are key steps toward improving societal awareness of the courage and importance of whistleblowing. Achieving this requires more than just enhancing general participatory capacities; it calls for comprehensive engagement with whistleblowers, ordinary citizens, and those responsible for managing whistleblower protection systems. Ultimately, the goal is to create a culture where the courage to report wrongdoing is commended, ensuring that whistleblowers are not sidelined but rather find opportunities to play active roles across society.
Proposed Solution
Through the initiative to strengthen protection and support for anti-corruption public interest whistleblowing, it becomes possible to establish uniform standards for whistleblower protection and support, thereby resolving issues of fairness among whistleblowers. As a result, the public’s predictability regarding legal application to whistleblowing increases, and trust in the system can be restored—highlighting the importance of this effort. Under this initiative, the protection and support levels specified in the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Act and the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers are to be aligned, while the remaining three laws will adopt the provisions of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Act in a unified and balanced manner. Although the plan primarily aims to enhance protection and support, it also encompasses specific provisions such as expanding the scope of protected individuals, refining grounds for dismissing applications for protective measures, introducing temporary suspension of disadvantageous measures, aligning and revising presumptive grounds for such measures, unifying investigative processes for protection requests, introducing fines for refusing investigations related to compensation, and establishing or improving financial assistance regulations for attorney-filed anonymous reports by internal whistleblowers. Through these measures, the level of practical protection and support for whistleblowers can be substantially reinforced.
Next, to resolve blind spots where, despite a report’s strong public interest relevance, the whistleblower does not receive legal protection because it is not covered under the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers, adding relevant statutes to the law is crucial. Including more statutes among the public interest violations covered by the Act will surface acts that occur in areas where oversight and accountability are especially challenging. Furthermore, as these new laws are recognized as potential grounds for whistleblowing, the corresponding number of reports may also rise, thus fostering greater activation of the public interest whistleblowing system itself.
Finally, strengthening protection and support for whistleblowers is also essential for countering negative perceptions of public interest whistleblowing. Beyond enforcing the protection and support provisions under the existing five laws, the objective here is to uniformly raise the actual levels of protection and support—representing further efforts and proactive measures to bolster social respect for whistleblowing. This will serve as a starting point for cultivating a culture in which whistleblowers are regarded as guardians of the public good and lay the groundwork for long-term efforts to build positive public perceptions.
Relevance to OGP
Providing the same level of protection and support to various types of public interest whistleblowers contributes to rationalizing whistleblower protection and encourages public interest reporting and the eradication of corruption. First, from the standpoint of the value of transparency, the reporting system helps bring light to corruption and other public interest violations that occur in sectors where oversight and checks are often difficult. Second, from the perspective of public accountability, citizens are able to report improper or illegal acts that directly or indirectly affect their lives through anti-corruption and whistleblowing laws, thus helping to correct such acts. Because the act of reporting itself is founded on the voluntary actions of citizens, citizen participation is indispensable—closely linking it to the values of open government.
Implementing this commitment can be seen as the government’s effort to support civil society by establishing efficient, transparent, and accountable institutions and regulations. Expanding the range of reportable actions and strengthening protection and support systems will lead to more voluntary reporting, a move away from traditional control-centric approaches and aligned with the values of open government. This entails supporting citizen participation as a form of autonomous governance and promoting citizens’ voluntary ethical behavior and ethical competence.
In this process, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission plans to conduct a public outreach campaign to highlight the implications of strengthening protection and support for anti-corruption whistleblowing, from the perspective of open government values. The aim is to bolster citizens’ participation in policymaking processes and help them utilize tools to express and advocate for their rights. One concrete method involves gathering feedback and facilitating inquiries through a public engagement platform called People’s Idea Box, managed by the Commission. Through this platform, citizens can use government-provided information to voice opinions, raise questions, and engage in open debates – thereby exercising their right to participate in policy decision-making process. Consequently, this initiative contributes to a more innovative and democratic form of governance.
Goals
The initiative to strengthen protection and support for anti-corruption public interest whistleblowing aims to create a system where individuals feel confident and secure in reporting wrongdoing. Under the amended laws, efforts will focus on safeguarding whistleblowers’ confidentiality, implementing effective penalties for careless disclosures, and ensuring enforceability of these protections. Continuous engagement with citizens will help identify any deficiencies in the system, ensuring that laws and frameworks evolve to meet their needs. Monitoring from the whistleblower’s perspective will drive further maturity and advancement of the system.
As the system matures, expanding the workforce dedicated to whistleblower protection and enhancing follow-up management will be key priorities. Streamlined procedures for investigating whistleblower protection cases—including improved case-handling protocols and reporting formats—will enable more efficient and timely resolutions. Additionally, active use of compensation and reward mechanisms will encourage more individuals to report whistleblowing. Ultimately, the overarching goal is to create an environment in which citizens can feel completely at ease about reporting wrongdoing.
Efforts will continue to promote positive perceptions so that all members of society recognize that a whistleblower protection and support system is integral to sustainable development. Education and outreach about whistleblower protection and support will be carried out through various channels, with customized, sector-specific training available. In addition, informational posters, brochures, and operational guides will be produced and distributed to all agencies, reflecting the main points of the revised legislation. Indeed, in 2024, active promotion of anti-corruption whistleblower protection and support—via card news across online and offline platforms, government agency websites, blogs, social media, TV, and YouTube ads—resulted in public awareness of whistleblower protection and support programs reaching 58.9%, the highest level on record.
Finally, beyond simply implementing a national project, the aim is to share essential strategies so that areas where whistleblower protection systems have not yet taken root can acquire the necessary knowledge and resources, thereby introducing a nationwide anti-corruption governance model. Korea’s Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers was enacted in 2011, and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Act was enacted in 2001, each with over a decade and two decades of history, respectively. By contrast, the European Union introduced a whistleblower protection directive only in 2019. Therefore, Korea’s ultimate goal is to take the lead internationally in whistleblower protection and support, set the global agenda, and firmly establish itself as a frontrunner in whistleblower protection.
Among the detailed plans currently underway for this initiative, the “enactment and implementation of legal provisions on rewarding whistleblowers for helping public institutions recover revenue” has been completed with the enforcement of the amended Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers on September 2, 2023. As a result, if a public institution’s revenue is recovered or increased due to a public interest report—just as with corruption reports—compensation or rewards can now be granted.
Next, legislative efforts to expand “the list of laws defining acts that constitute a public interest violation” have also continued, such that, as of January 3, 2025, the number of statutes covered by the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers now totals 494.
Lastly, regarding the “legislative effort to refine whistleblower protection and support systems,” the priority at present (in 2025) is to identify which laws are most urgently needed from the whistleblower’s perspective and to draft bills accordingly. Starting with interagency consultations and a public notice of proposed legislation in 2025, the plan is to successfully achieve amendments to all five anti-corruption laws—through the government and National Assembly legislative processes—before the project’s end date of June 30, 2027.
Intended Results
By overhauling the systems that protect and support public interest whistleblowers, the goal is to expand the scope and level of protections so that people can feel secure in reporting wrongdoing. This in turn encourages citizen participation in anti-corruption whistleblowing, ultimately contributing to the public good.
More specifically, whistleblowers will receive the same protection and support regardless of the type of report they file, effectively reorganizing the whistleblower protection and support systems around citizens—their end users. At the same time, clarifying investigative authority, imposing fines, and introducing a temporary suspension procedure for disadvantageous actions will strengthen practical measures for whistleblower protection, thereby enhancing the system’s effectiveness.
Moreover, by broadening the coverage of statutes protected under the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers, public interest reporting will be further promoted. In terms of uncovering public interest violations, the scope has expanded from central or local governments to also include public institutions.
Milestones
The initiative to strengthen protection and support for anti-corruption public interest whistleblowers will focus on two main areas—revisions to the whistleblower protection system and revisions to the whistleblower support system. These revisions will proceed in stages, prioritized according to the most urgent needs from the whistleblower’s perspective.
First, key improvements to the protection system include expanding the range of individuals covered by protection, introducing mandatory compliance with requests for disciplinary action against those who breach confidentiality obligations, broadening who can omit personal information on official documents and who can request personal protection, establishing uniform rules regarding the scope of protection requests, revising the grounds for dismissing protection requests, and introducing a temporary suspension procedure for disadvantageous measures.
With regard to the support system, proposed revisions include clarifying the grounds for paying rewards and bounties, introducing administrative fines for refusing to cooperate in investigations related to compensation, and creating or refining provisions to support legal fees for anonymous proxy reports filed by internal whistleblowers.
The legislative strategy is divided into two phases: first, amending the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Act and the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers, followed by amendments to the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act, and the Act on the Recovery of Public Funds after a few months’ interval. In fact, the Ministry of Government Legislation, in connection with the 2025 legislative plan and timeline, requested that the five acts be revised sequentially rather than all at once. During the legislative process within both the government and the National Assembly, public input will be actively sought and used as an opportunity to foster social consensus about the need for whistleblower protection.
After these measures have been implemented, further efforts will be made to ensure that government agencies, public entities, and the public at large fully understand the updated policies. This includes disseminating standard operational guidelines on handling corruption and public interest reports as well as on whistleblower protection, developing clause-by-clause explanatory materials and procedural manuals, and publishing compilations of legal precedents related to whistleblower protection and compensation.
Finally, through the “Integrity Portal” operated by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, sufficient information on public interest whistleblowing will be provided and made open. The aim is to proactively and actively guarantee whistleblowers’ right to information so that no one is left unprotected or unsupported simply because they were unaware of the relevant systems.