Jung Hyeyoung, Head of the Whistleblower Reward Division at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, explained on the 10th at the briefing room of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission in the Government Sejong Complex that a whistleblower who reported suspicions of illegal free transfer of national and public land related to urban redevelopment projects will receive the highest reward ever of 1.82 billion won. Photo by Yonhap News
The highest-ever reward has been granted to a whistleblower who reported suspicions of illegal free transfer of national and public land worth approximately 37.5 billion won during an urban redevelopment project.
On the 10th, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced that it had paid a record-high reward of 1.82 billion won to an individual whistleblower. This is the highest amount ever awarded to an individual since the whistleblower reward system for corruption reports was introduced in 2002. Previously, the largest reward paid for a corruption report was about 1.1 billion won, which was given in 2015 to a person who reported a company that had inflated cost data to make excessive profits.
The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission decided to grant a reward of 1.82 billion won to the whistleblower who reported suspicions of illegal free transfer of national and public land, such as roads, related to an urban redevelopment project. The decision was made following deliberation and approval by the commission's Reward Deliberation Committee and the full committee.
The whistleblower reported to the commission that the district office had initially approved the project on the condition that the housing cooperative purchase about 10,000 square meters of national and public land. However, when the cooperative later requested to increase the area of land to be transferred for free, citing a reduction in the land they were required to purchase to about 5,000 square meters, the district office accepted this request and approved the change without legal grounds.
The commission determined that the district office's action of excluding national and public land, which the housing cooperative was supposed to purchase, from the purchase requirement constituted an act of corruption under the Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. The case was referred to the supervisory authority, and after an audit, those involved in the corrupt act were disciplined.
The commission stated that, through this report, the amount of national and public land that was about to be illegally transferred for free to the housing cooperative was valued at approximately 37.5 billion won, and this figure was used as the basis for calculating the reward. According to the current Enforcement Decree of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Act, if the value of the reward target exceeds 4 billion won, the reward is calculated as "480 million won plus 4% of the amount exceeding 4 billion won."
Lee Myungsun, Vice Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, stated, "The commission uncovers covert acts of corruption through whistleblower reports and compensates whistleblowers for their contributions. We will continue to do our utmost to encourage active reporting by providing generous rewards to whistleblowers."
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