Lee: "Whistleblowing Businesses Are Not Bad... They Contribute to the Community"

President Lee Jae-myung Presides Over Ministry Briefing
Government to Award 30% of Recovered Funds to Whistleblowers
"Penalties Have Been Too Lenient Up to Now"
Calls for Excluding and Even Dissolving Companies Engaging in Deliberate Fraud

On July 15, President Lee Jae-myung addressed the so-called “reporting business,” where individuals operate professionally to detect and report corruption and then receive monetary rewards. He stated, “There is no need to prohibit people from establishing companies to report professionally and earn money.” He also instructed the abolition of previous practices that stigmatized repeat reporters as 'professional informants' and reduced or withheld rewards, calling for measures to recognize the detection and reporting of corruption as legitimate activities that contribute to the community.

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the ministry work report held at the Blue House State Guest House on July 15, 2026. Photo by Blue House Press Photographers Group, Yonhap News Agency

At the ministry work report held at the Blue House Reception Hall that day, President Lee was briefed on the progress of reforms to the reward system for reporting subsidy fraud. He explained, “The government’s policy is that if an administrative fine is imposed or government funds are recovered as a result of a crime report, roughly 30% of the sum should, as a basic principle, be paid to the reporting person or those who contribute to the recovery.”

President Lee emphasized, “Though I have spoken about this half-jokingly, there is no need to prohibit people from establishing companies to professionally report and make money from this. In the past, there were cases where reward payments were refused with questions like ‘why did you make so many reports professionally?’ but going forward, the policy should be to no longer do so.”

He cited a real-life case where a citizen specializing in filming and reporting the illegal disposal of cigarette butts reported thousands of incidents, but could not receive proper compensation because the amount of the reward was deemed excessively high. President Lee stated, “They went as far as purchasing camera equipment with the intent to report—why shouldn’t they receive the payment? If the action was in line with government policy, the promised reward should be provided.”

President Lee went on to say, “There is a negative perception in our society about receiving money for reporting the misdeeds of others,” but also emphasized, “Actively seeking out, reporting, and rooting out corruption and wrongdoing contributes far more to the state and the community.” He added, “It is important that the government does not disadvantage someone simply because they are seen as ‘professional informants’ when executing policy.”

The government plans to significantly expand the scale of rewards for reporting subsidy fraud. The Ministry of Economy and Finance reported plans to revise enforcement ordinances so that rewards, which are currently calculated based on the amount ordered to be returned, may instead amount to as much as 30% of the total sum recovered to the treasury. In addition, the government is promoting the creation of a “National Reporting Incentive Fund” to apply the same principle to reporting of collusion or other misdemeanors. When government actions result in administrative fines or recovered funds, the reporting person and those contributing to recovery will receive a certain percentage of the recovered amount.

Sanctions against subsidy fraud will also be strengthened. The government is pursuing legislative changes that would increase the maximum administrative penalty multiplier from the current five times the amount of returned subsidy to up to eight times.

Prime Minister Han Sung-sook said, “On the ground, companies participating in support programs tend to perceive fraudulent receipt very lightly,” emphasizing, “It is necessary to implement strict sanctions such as barring offending companies from participating in subsequent projects.” In response, President Lee commented, “If it is a simple mistake, corrective actions are enough, but if fraudulent receipt was intentional and malicious, companies responsible should no longer receive support, or, if fraud was their primary objective, even be dissolved. Sanctions until now have been too lenient.”

President Lee reiterated, “Uncovering and reporting corruption is not a bad act but an action to protect the community. Do not limit rewards simply because the reports were made professionally, but instead, provide substantial compensation according to the actual contribution made in exposing wrongdoing.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.