Anti-graft law upheld as constitutional

Kim Young-ran Act will go into effect on Sept. 28; fierce backlash expected

By Kim Bo-eun

The Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that the anti-graft law, dubbed the Kim Young-ran Act, was constitutional, allowing the controversial law to go into effect Sept. 28 as scheduled.

The act will make 4 million public servants, journalists and private school teachers and their spouses subject to regulations that ban them from being given meals and gifts exceeding designated price limits.

The Korean Bar Association (KBA), along with the Journalists Association of Korea (JAK), private school employees and private kindergarten directors filed constitutional appeals last year, following the bill’s passage in March 2015.

The parties had taken issue with four clauses of the bill, claiming they went against fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution such as the right to equality, freedom of conscience and the principal of legality.

One of the most contentious issues was whether it was fair to include journalists and private school teachers and workers as subjects of the act, which was originally aimed at deterring corruption in the public sector.

In a seven to two ruling, the court said that education and the media exert substantial influence on society and that corruption in these sectors can have considerable ripple effects, which could cause large-scale, long-term harm.

“The common good which the law could bring outweighs the infringement of journalists and private school teachers’ freedom,” it said.

The court also acknowledged the constitutionality of another clause, which requires the subjects of the act to report their spouses to the authorities when the spouses have violated the law such as receiving more than a 50,000 won gift.

In addition, the court said core concepts of the law, such as “work-related” which petitioners claimed lacked clarity, were clear enough. It also said it was proper for President Park Geun-hye to set the price limit of meals and gifts and other conditions.

The ruling triggered a backlash from involved parties.

The KBA issued a statement, stating “Democracy has been severely undermined by the Constitutional Court allowing authorities to control the media.”

The lawyers’ group demanded a revision of the clause.

“We regret the court’s ruling,” said the JAK. “Journalists’ reporting activities will be limited as their daily tasks can become subject to regulation by authorities.”

Restaurateurs and livestock industry workers also denounced the ruling, claiming the act will put their livelihoods at risk.

The bill was proposed by the former chief of the Anti-corruption & Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) Kim Young-ran following a case in 2011 in which a prosecutor was acquitted even though she had accepted a Mercedes Benz, because the court was unable to find that the luxury car had been provided in exchange for a work-related favor.

Controversies continued since the proposal of the bill, which was revised numerous times before its passage. Even after passage, lawmakers proposed additional revisions such as excluding products from agriculture, livestock and marine industries from the gifts exceeding the limit, as those in the industry claimed they would suffer tremendous losses.

However, any revisions will not be made before enactment.

The law bans subjects from being treated to a meal worth more than 30,000 won, from accepting gifts priced over 50,000 won and receiving congratulatory and condolence money exceeding 100,000 won.

It also prohibits subjects from accepting a single gift of 1 million won and a total of 3 million won in a fiscal year, whether the gifts were provided in exchange for work-related favors or not.