Anti-Corruption Body Gives Whistleblowers Reward
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) has given whistleblowers rewards for reporting corruption cases involving public officials, the spokesman said Monday.
The organization led by Yang Kun also redeemed subsidies worth about 640 million won unlawfully distributed to public institutions.
``Whistle blowing contributes to building a clean, transparent society and regaining taxes which were to be wasted,'' said Kim Dok-man, public information officer of the commission.
Six people were given 88.2 million won in return for reporting corruption-related cases including the subsidy embezzlement of a youth training camp.
According to the commission, the camp received 14.1 million won from the government by faking a one-day training program for 400 students into a two-day one.
Approximately 387.1 million won, which was undeservedly granted to a married doctor and pharmacist was also redeemed.
The organization said the doctor forged prescriptions or padded out consultation hours, and the partner took subsidies pretending to fill the fake prescriptions.
The whistleblower for the case received around 55.5 million won.
The ACRC decided to suspend the operation of a hospital for one year because its chief doctor gained illicit profits of 188.6 million won by making false medical records.
A local carrier is also found to have profiteered 23.8 million won by fabricating the number of containers transported from the United States to Korea, the official said.
Meanwhile, a district police station illegally took 17.6 million won as overtime pay for 26 policemen who actually did not work the extra duties.
A superintendent of educational affairs was found to have taken a bribe of 10 million won from a candidate waiting for promotion screening in a provincial office of education.
The commission has collected 936.1 million won inappropriately given out since its launching in March and provided whistleblowers with 137.6 million won as rewards.
The anti-corruption body has rewarded whistleblowers for more than six years as part of efforts to boost transparency.