This Year’s Accounting Fraud Whistleblower Rewards Total 407 Million Won... 1.6 Times Increase Compared to Previous Year

Payment per case also increased 1.8 times to 58.14 million won

Financial Supervisory Service, Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

The Financial Supervisory Service announced on the 25th that it has paid a total of 407 million KRW in rewards for seven reports this year that significantly contributed to detecting and addressing accounting fraud by submitting evidence related to violations of the company's accounting standards.

The amount of rewards paid this year increased 1.6 times compared to last year (251 million KRW), and the reward amount per case also rose to 58.14 million KRW, more than 1.8 times the amount last year (31.31 million KRW).

The number of cases where the reports served as crucial clues for detecting accounting fraud has increased, and in this regard, a record-high reward of 207 million KRW was paid for one case.

The total number of accounting fraud reports this year was 179, a significant increase compared to last year (141 cases).

The Securities and Futures Commission and the Financial Services Commission imposed fines totaling 3.08 billion KRW for three reports related to violations of accounting standards, and two cases involving intentional accounting manipulation were reported and referred to investigative authorities.

Previously, in May last year, related laws were amended to double the maximum reward for accounting fraud reports from 1 billion KRW to 2 billion KRW.

The Financial Supervisory Service stated, "The confidentiality of the reporter's personal information is strictly maintained and managed to prevent any leakage under any circumstances," adding, "Even if the report is made anonymously, if the reporter's identity is verified within three months from the date the Securities and Futures Commission's measures are finalized, the reward can be paid following the payment procedures."