"Up to 3 Years Imprisonment for Fraudulent Receipt of Public Financial Payments... Introduction of Non-Anonymous Proxy Reporting"

Those who fraudulently receive public financial payments will face imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million won.

On the 14th, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced that the amendment to the "Act on the Prohibition of Fraudulent Claims for Public Financial Payments and Recovery of Unjust Benefits" passed the National Assembly on the 29th of last month.

The key points of the bill include ▲establishing criminal penalties for fraudulent recipients of public financial payments ▲introducing an interest surcharge provision under the Public Finance Recovery Act when recovering unjust benefits from public financial payments ▲and narrowing the scope of responsibility reduction for voluntary reporters.

A "non-disclosure proxy reporting system" was also introduced for reporting fraudulent claims of public financial payments. This system allows a lawyer to report on behalf of the whistleblower without revealing the reporter's personal information.

An official from the Commission stated, "With this legal amendment, sanctions against fraudulent recipients of public finances have been strengthened, and support for whistleblowers reporting fraudulent claims has been expanded. We will continue to actively improve the system to prevent leakage of public finances."