A record amount of 29.2 million won paid out in monetary award to a public interest whistleblower who fingered cryptocurrency scams

ACRC paid a total of 114.67 million won in monetary rewards/awards to 23 public interest whistleblowers

July 4, 2018

Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission

The Republic of Korea

A record 29.2 million won was given in monetary award to a person who filed a report on a fraudster who had issued cryptocurrency named K-COIN and swindled people out of 17.8 billion won using pyramid scheme.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Pak Un Jong) announced on July 4 that it paid 23 public interest whistleblowers 60.47 million won and 54.2 million won in monetary rewards and awards, respectively, making a total of 114.67 million won, including the aforementioned 29.2 million won.

In particular, the ACRC decided this time to pay a total of 54.2 million won in monetary awards with respect to 4 cases that have highly contributed to enhancing public interest.

In addition, the ACRC paid 10 million won to a person who reported a hospital established under the name of a Korean medicine doctor, but managed and operated by a non-medical practitioner.

A monetary award worth 5 million won was also paid to a person who blew a whistle on a hospital where a radiological technologist, not a medical practitioner, practiced medicine, and instead of a saline solution, distilled water was used for cerebral MRI angiography.

The ACRC provides monetary awards to whistleblowers if he/she greatly contributes to the promotion of public interest by subjecting violators of public interest to judicial or administrative disposition, including jail sentence, or by preventing conducts detrimental to the life, health and properties of the people, even if there is no economic profit accruing to the state coffers from imposing penalty charges, etc.

On top of these awards, the ACRC paid 13.34 million won in monetary rewards to a person who reported a pharmaceutical company that had provided hospitals and clinics across the country with unlawful medical rebates under the pretext of offering support, making a total of 60.47 million won in monetary rewards provided to public interest whistleblowers.

The revenues that accrued to the treasury of central and local governments from the said reports amount to 307.26 million won.

* As of 2018, the accumulated amount of monetary rewards paid: 1038.65 million won, the amount of total revenues accruing to the state coffers: 11,249.12 million won

A Deputy Director General for Reports Inspection of the ACRC Kim Jae Soo noted “various forms of conducts infringing on public interests, including cryptocurrency frauds, child abuse and operation of hospitals owned by non-medical practitioners all of which have become social issues, have been exposed thanks to public interest whistleblowing by the people.”

He also said “the ACRC is planning to provide monetary awards as well as rewards in an active manner so that citizens’ robust reporting on conducts detrimental to public interests can contribute to the establishment of transparent and clean social climate.”