Gyeonggi-do to Award 10 Million Won to Whistleblowers Reporting Fake Construction Companies

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will pay a reward of 10 million won to whistleblowers who report paper companies committing illegal subcontracting. This is the highest amount of reward ever paid to public interest whistleblowers in Gyeonggi Province.

On the 12th, Gyeonggi Province held the 3rd Gyeonggi Province Public Interest Whistleblower Support Committee meeting of 2020 and decided to pay a total of 21.43 million won in rewards for 60 public interest reports, including this case.

Whistleblower A reported that a specialized construction company was a "fake company" (paper company) registered only under the representative's name without any technical personnel, and that it had illegally subcontracted the B construction project in bulk to specialized construction companies. The report was confirmed to be true, and the specialized construction company was deregistered. Another general construction company reported by A is also expected to be suspended from business due to a shortage of technical personnel.

The Public Interest Whistleblower Support Committee decided to pay the maximum reward of 10 million won for deregistration to eradicate the construction industry practice of causing poor-quality construction through the establishment and operation of "fake companies" and to encourage related reports.

Additionally, a reward of 700,000 won was decided for reporting a massage parlor that did not apply flame retardant treatment to curtains and other indoor decorations and altered the internal structure to create a secret room, and 500,000 won for reporting that flame retardant treatment was not applied to interior wood in an elderly care facility. These facilities were evaluated as contributing to the safety of residents because they are elderly and multi-use facilities with high damage potential in case of fire.

For the first time, a reward of 500,000 won was decided for a case where related system improvements were made through public interest reporting. Whistleblower C reported that a person hired for a public job subsidized by Gyeonggi Province had fraudulently received work allowances. The province inspected and supervised not only the reported area but also all 20 cities and counties where the related project was conducted, confirmed duplicate allowance receipt, and recovered the amount. The attendance verification system at the facility was also replaced with a fingerprint recognition system to prevent recurrence.

In addition, rewards will be paid for 60 public interest reports including ▲ violations of the Passenger Transport Service Act such as illegal bus service reductions (27 cases) ▲ violations of the Fire Services Act such as emergency exit closures (8 cases) ▲ environmental pollution acts such as unreported air pollutant emission facilities (7 cases).

Public interest reports refer to "public interest reports" that report violations of 284 laws related to public health and safety, environment, consumer interests, and fair competition, such as manufacturing and selling substandard food, illegal wastewater discharge, non-compliance with industrial safety measures, various false or exaggerated advertisements, and origin labeling violations; "corruption reports" that report corruption by public officials and public institutions; and "reports of violations of the Gyeonggi Province Public Officials Code of Conduct."

Last year, the province established the "Gyeonggi Province Public Interest Whistleblower Protection and Support Ordinance" to allow anyone to easily report public interest issues through the provincial website and set regulations for rewards and compensation for whistleblowers.

Accordingly, 339 public interest whistleblowers have received a total of 107.65 million won in compensation and rewards so far.

Those who wish to report public interest issues can do so through the dedicated reporting channel "Gyeonggi Province Public Interest Whistleblower Hotline - Gongjeong Gyeonggi 2580 (hotline.gg.go.kr)." For those who fear disadvantages from revealing their identity and do not want to disclose personal information, an "anonymous lawyer proxy reporting system" is also in operation, allowing reports under a lawyer's name.

Meanwhile, a total of 964 reports (as of September 30) have been received through the Gyeonggi Province Public Interest Whistleblower Hotline this year. Punishments for public official corruption and other acts have been carried out through these reports, and a public official who neglected entrusted investigations of public interest reports was identified and disciplinary procedures initiated.

Ha Young-min, the province’s investigation officer, stated, "We will thoroughly verify acts that infringe on residents' safety and disrupt fair trade order through public interest reports and actively consider paying rewards to encourage reporting."