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  • Improper Solicitation and Graft Act
  • Main Content of the Act

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Main Content of the Act

Main Content of the Act

Scope of application

  • Organizations
    • All the public institutions including constitutional institutions, central administrative agencies, local governments, municipal or provincial offices of education, and public service-related organizations
    • Private and public schools of various levels, educational corporations under Private School Act, and media companies under Article 2.12 of the Act on Press Arbitration and Remedies, etc. for Damage Caused by Press Reports
  • Individuals: Public officials or persons performing public duties
    • Public officials or relevant persons: Civil servants of national or local governments; heads and employees of public service-related organizations, public institutions, schools, educational corporations, and media companies
    • Spouses of public officials
    • Private persons performing public duties: Individuals participating in the decision-making process of public organizations
    • General public: Persons who improperly solicit public officials or who offer them prohibited financial or other advantages)

Prohibition of improper solicitations

  • Concept of improper solicitations
    • No one should solicit, directly or through a third party, a public official or relevant person performing his or her duties.
    • A total of 15 types of improper solicitations are stipulated to explicitly explain which acts constitute the acts of improper solicitation.
    • A total of seven exceptions to improper solicitations including an act of requesting certain actions in public are stipulated, in order to prevent people from being discouraged to duly request their rights.
  • Sanctions
    • A stakeholder who improperly solicits a public official directly in regard to his or her own businesses is not subject to sanctions.
    • Any person who makes an improper solicitation through a third party to a public official or relevant person should be subject to a fine for negligence.
    • A public official or relevant person who performs his or her duties as directed by an improper solicitation should be punished by imprisonment for not longer than two years or by a fine not exceeding 20 million won.
    • (Public official) If a public official or relevant person receives an improper solicitation, he or she should clearly express an intention to refuse the solicitation, and report the fact to the head of the concerned agency, if such solicitations repeatedly occur.
    • (Head of the concerned agency) The head of the concerned agency should report to an investigative agency if the report requires further investigation, record and manage main content of and measures taken to an improper solicitation, and if necessary, disclose the improper solicitation on the internal web page.
    • (Measures) The head of the concerned agency may take measures such as provisional suspension of performing the duties, designation of a substitute, and transfer of the public official or relevant person who received an improper solicitation. The head of the concerned agency may let the public official or relevant person continue his or her duties in the event that it is very difficult to find a substitute to replace the public official or relevant person.

Prohibition of acceptance of financial or other advantages

  • Unacceptable financial or other advantages and sanctions
    • A public official or relevant person should be subject to criminal punishment if he or she receives financial or other advantages in excess of one million won at a time or three million won in a fiscal year from the same person, regardless of his or her duties or the title of such offer. A fine for negligence will be imposed when a public official receives financial or other advantages not exceeding one million won if the acceptance is in connection with his or her duties.
  • Prohibition of acceptance of financial or other advantages by the spouse of a public official
    • The spouse of a public official or relevant person should not receive financial or other advantages that are in connection with the duties of the public official or relevant person. A public official will face sanctions if he or she or relevant person knows the fact that his or her spouse received unacceptable financial or other advantages but does not report it.
    • Exceptions include cases where a public official or the spouse returns the financial or other advantages or manifested a will to refuse the advantage.

Limits on the amount of honoraria for outside lectures

If a public official or relevant person intends to conduct an outside lecture related to his or her duties, he or she should report it in advance and should not accept an honorarium exceeding the limits provided under the Presidential Decree. Should a public official or relevant person receive an honorarium exceeding the amount as prescribed in Presidential Decree, he or she should report the fact to the head of the concerned agency and immediately return the excessive amount to the provider.

A head of the concerned agency may prevent an outside lecture that a public official or relevant person reported should it be deemed to hinder the public official or relevant person from performing his or her duties in an upright manner. A fine for negligence will be imposed if a public official receives an honorarium exceeding the prescribed amount, and disciplinary measures will be taken if he or she does not fulfill the duty of reporting the outside lecture in advance.

Reporting and handling of violations and protection and rewards for reporters

  • Reporting and handling violations
    • Anyone who discovers that a violation of the Act has taken place or is taking place may report it to the public institution where the violation occurred or its supervisory body, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), investigative agencies, and the ACRC.
    • The investigative agency should examine, inspect, or investigate the report, take necessary measures such as prosecution or disciplinary measures in accordance with the result of investigation, and notify the reporter of the results and measures taken.
    • See How to Report a Violation of Improper Solicitation and Graft Act
  • Protection and rewards for reporters
    • Protection measures such as prohibiting disadvantageous measures, restoring damage, safeguarding confidentiality, protecting physical safety, and mitigating liability may be provided for reporters.
    • Monetary compensation and rewards may be provided if the report led to an increase in the revenue of public institutions.