Record-High Rewards for Illegal Finance Whistleblowers
5 Outstanding, 11 Proactive, and 13 General Informants Recognized
The Financial Supervisory Service has awarded several hundred million won in rewards to citizens who reported illegal financial activities, such as illegal private lending, unauthorized fundraising, and illegal financial investments.
On the afternoon of December 16, at its headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, the Financial Supervisory Service held a ceremony to reward informants for reporting illegal financial activities, announcing that it paid a total of 131 million won to 29 outstanding whistleblowers.
The Financial Supervisory Service selected cases where it had received specific reports of illegal financial activities, determined that there was a suspected violation, and requested an investigation by the police or other authorities. Rewards were given only in cases where tangible investigative results, such as the apprehension of suspects, were confirmed. The recipients were chosen based on the completeness of the report, the estimated scale of potential damages, and their contribution to the investigation. As a result, five outstanding informants received a total of 50 million won, eleven proactive informants received a total of 55 million won, and thirteen general informants received a total of 26 million won, amounting to 131 million won in total. This marks the largest reward ever given for reporting illegal financial activities, up 46 million won (54.1%) from the previous year’s 85 million won. The average reward per case also increased by 500,000 won (11.6%) to 4.5 million won from last year’s 4 million won.
Major cases reported included: illegal high-interest loans and illegal debt collection targeting low-income and vulnerable groups; unauthorized fundraising schemes disguised as high-return businesses; and investment fraud using the imminent listing of unlisted stocks as bait. Rewards were given to reports that led to tangible investigative results, such as the apprehension of suspects involved in illegal financial activities.
The Financial Supervisory Service conducts the annual 'Illegal Financial Activities Whistleblower Reward' program to actively encourage citizens to report illegal private lending, unauthorized fundraising, illegal financial investments, and other illegal financial activities. Starting this year, the maximum reward per person has been increased and the overall reward scale expanded to further incentivize reporting of financial crimes that directly impact people’s livelihoods. Specifically, the maximum reward for reporting illegal private lending and illegal financial investment has been doubled (from 10 million won to 20 million won), and internal whistleblowers related to illegal financial activities can now receive up to twice the previous reward amount (up to 40 million won).
The Financial Supervisory Service stated, "Active reporting and whistleblowing by citizens are crucial to detecting and eradicating illegal financial activities that are often conducted covertly. If you have suffered damages from or have knowledge of illegal private lending, illegal financial investments, or unauthorized fundraising, we urge you to report it to the Financial Supervisory Service." The agency added, "Going forward, we will continue to do our utmost to prevent damages from illegal financial activities based on the proactive reports and whistleblowing of citizens."
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