Korea Rail Network Authority Applies "Integrity Reporting Reward System" for the First Time to Cheongbuk Line High-Speed Project

The Korea Rail Network Authority announced on June 19 that it has completed the bid opening for the Cheongbuk Line high-speed trackbed construction project, for the first time applying the "Integrity Reporting Reward System" to the process.

Provided by Korea Rail Network Authority

The Integrity Reporting Reward System was established and introduced in April to eradicate corrupt practices between bidders and review committee members in technical bidding and comprehensive evaluation bidding for construction engineering projects commissioned by the Authority.

The Cheongbuk Line high-speed project was commissioned (as a technical bid) with the main objective of straightening the section from Cheongju Airport to Bongyang-eup in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province (85.5 km).

The design review for sections 2 to 4 was conducted from June 10 to 12. As the Integrity Reporting Reward System was applied for the first time in this review, the Authority plans to pay up to 50% of the penalty (5% of the design amount in the case of technical bids) as a reward to the whistleblower, depending on the extent to which the report contributes to legally establishing the corrupt party's responsibility, if a bid corruption report is received.

For the Cheongbuk Line high-speed project, the Authority expects that the reward for each section could reach 5 to 10 billion KRW, which will play a significant role in promoting public interest reporting and enhancing the effectiveness of the system.

Additionally, during the review period, a call connection tone introducing the "Integrity Reporting Reward System" and an automatic call recording function were set on the mobile phones of both internal and external review committee members, including management, to raise awareness for preventing bid corruption.

Lee Seonghae, President of the Korea Rail Network Authority, stated, "With the principle that there can be no tolerance for bid corruption, we will continue to strengthen the institutional foundation to establish a culture of integrity throughout the railway industry."