– ACRC announced a legislative notice for partial amendments to the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers and the Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Operation of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, seeking to strengthen the protection and support for whistleblowers

(5, November. 2025, ACRC)

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Ryu Chul Whan) announced a 40-day legislative notice period from November 5 to December 15 for partial amendments to the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers and the Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Operation of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (the Anti-Corruption Act)

The purpose of these amendments is to enhance the uniformity of regulations related to the protection and support of public interest whistleblowers and those reporting corrupt acts, thereby increasing the level of protection for whistleblowers. Key elements are as follows

The proposed partial revisions to the”Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers”include: clarifying the regulations pertaining to the cost support when internal public interest whistleblowers receive legal assistance for anonymous proxy reporting (Article 8-3(1) of the proposed revision bill); broadening the scope of protection applications to include scenarios where adverse actions are anticipated, not only when they have occurred (Article 17(1) of the proposed revision bill); and reducing grounds for dismissal of protection applications to strengthen the level of protection (Article 18(1) of the proposed revision bill).

Additionally, the revision bill introduced a temporary suspension of disadvantageous measures to prevent irreparable harm in advance (Article 22) and established penalties for non-compliance (Article 30(4)).

The proposed revisions to the Anti-Corruption Act include: establishing cost support regulations when internal whistleblowers receive legal aid for anonymous proxy reporting (Article 58-3); introducing an obligation to comply with committee demands for disciplinary action or violations of secrecy obligation (Articles 62-3(4) and 64(4)); and introducing checks on the implementation of protection measure decisions (Article 62-3(7)) to enhance whistleblower protection.

The amendments also add the cases where efforts to identify the whistleblower are made, or where interference, coercion for cancellation, or disadvantageous measures within two years after reporting exist to the list of grounds to presume that adverse actions have occurred (Article 63) and extend the applicable scope of personal safety measures and omission of personal details to include collaborators, relatives, and cohabitants (Articles 64-2(1) and 64-3).

Furthermore, the amendments prohibit damage claims against whistleblowers (Article 66(5)), nullify provisions prohibiting or restricting reporting (Article 66(6)), and extend the scope of protection to cases where reports are made to investigative agencies through complaints or tips, and reports made to the Board of Audit and Inspection (Article 67).

The ACRC plans to disclose the detailed content of these amendments on its website (www.acrc.go.kr) and widely gather public opinions for reflection during the 40-day legislative notice period.

Kim Eung Tae, Director General of the Inspection and Protection Bureau at the ACRC, stated, “These amendments aim to enhance the uniformity of the whistleblower protection and support system,” further adding that, “by strengthening the effectiveness of whistleblower protection, we hope to secure public trust in the corruption and public interest reporting system.”