Improper Solicitation and Graft Act Violations Hit Record Low... Number of Sanctioned Individuals Also Drops

Continuous Decline Since Peak in 2018

Over Half of All Reports Involve "Improper Solicitations"

Majority of Sanctions Issued for "Acceptance of Money or Valuables"

The number of whistle-blowing reports and sanctioned individuals for violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act dropped significantly last year. This is interpreted as a result of the system having stabilized, as the Act marks its 10th anniversary this year.

An employee organizing 50,000 won bills at the headquarters of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul. Unrelated to the article content. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced on the 28th that, as a result of having monitored the operational status of around 24,000 public institutions nationwide over the past 10 years since the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act came into effect in September 2016, the number of violation reports last year reached a record low of 1,280 cases. The number of sanctioned individuals also decreased by 23.8% compared to the previous year, reaching 340.

Since the enactment of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, a total of 17,455 whistle-blowing reports have been filed. By type of violation, improper solicitations made up the majority at 9,346 cases (53.5%). This was followed by the acceptance of money or valuables with 7,558 cases (43.3%), and the receipt of excessive honoraria for external lectures with 551 cases (3.2%). Annually, the number of reports peaked in 2018 with 4,386 cases, and showed a steady decline until 2021. After several fluctuations, a historic low in reports was recorded last year.

While improper solicitations accounted for the largest number of reports, the overwhelming majority of sanctions were related to the acceptance of money or valuables. Of the total 2,983 individuals sanctioned to date, 2,828 were penalized for accepting money or valuables, making up 94.8% of the total. Sanctions for improper solicitations accounted for 140 individuals (4.7%), and the receipt of excessive honoraria for external lectures accounted for 15 (0.5%). Notably, last year, reports involving the acceptance of money or valuables represented 75.1% of all cases, and accounted for 95.3% of individuals sanctioned.

Jeong I-Yeon, Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, remarked, "It is highly encouraging to see both the number of reports and sanctioned individuals steadily declining over the 10 years since the Act's implementation, with institutional operations stabilizing across organizations."

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