![\"Joo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/rcv.YNA.20260521.PYH2026052102390001300_P1.jpg\"\/ "\\"Korea")
Joo Byung-ki, chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, reports on the findings of an investigation into flour price-fixing and response measures during a task force meeting of ministers on special management of consumer prices and the 268th meeting of economic ministers on external affairs, held at the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 21st. Yonhap News<\/p>\n
Whistleblowers who report cartels and other violations of Korea’s Fair Trade Act will be able to receive up to 10% of the imposed fine as a reward, with no upper limit. With multibillion-won fines becoming increasingly common, the change opens the door to “mega-rewards” worth tens of billions of won.<\/p>\n
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said Tuesday it has drafted an amendment to the “Regulations on Reward Payments to Reporters of Fair Trade Act Violations” and will provide administrative notice through the 10th of next month.<\/p>\n
The core of the amendment is the elimination of the reward ceiling. Current limits are set by violation type: 3 billion won for cartels, 2 billion won for unfair support and private benefit-seeking, and 500 million won for violations of the Subcontracting Act, Franchise Act, and Agency Act. The FTC said this structure offered insufficient compensation relative to the risks borne by whistleblowers, discouraging tips on major cases.<\/p>\n
President Lee Jae-myung had also instructed at a Cabinet meeting that the system be revamped to encourage reporting of misconduct such as stock manipulation and cartels, saying, “When someone reports a large organization, they should be able to receive a reward large enough to change their life for good \u2014 that’s how you maximize the deterrent and preventive effect.”<\/p>\n
Once the amendment takes effect, the reward cap will be removed for all categories of violations. Rewards will rise in proportion to the size of the fine. The calculation method will also be simplified. Previously, separate rates were applied based on fine brackets and the level of evidence, but going forward, the final amount will be determined by reflecting the reporter’s contribution and quality of evidence on a base of 10% of the total fine.<\/p>\n
For example, if a whistleblower submits key evidence that uncovers a 100 billion won cartel case, the maximum reward under the existing system was around 2.85 billion won. Under the revised rules, the reward could reach up to 10 billion won.<\/p>\n
The scope of compensation for reports of private benefit-seeking and unfair support will also be expanded. Going forward, not only simple transaction records but also internal information needed to prove illegality \u2014 such as evidence of intent to support owner family members \u2014 will be recognized as a key evaluation factor. Incentives for reporting technology theft will also be strengthened. The FTC plans to establish additional grounds for rewards covering activities such as those of “technology protection inspectors,” who gather information on technology misappropriation in subcontracting workplaces.<\/p>\n
Safeguards against false or malicious reports have also been included. Rewards may be reduced by up to 30% based on factors such as the reporter’s level of cooperation with the investigation and any involvement in the violation.<\/p>\n
The payment method will also change. Currently, rewards are paid within three months of an FTC ruling. Under the new rules, a base reward will first be paid after the fine is actually deposited into the national treasury, with the remaining amount paid once appeal procedures such as administrative litigation are concluded.<\/p>\n
“This will encourage internal reporting of large-scale unfair trade practices and serve as a wake-up call to companies that illegal acts will eventually be uncovered,” an FTC official said. “We plan to finalize and implement the amendment in the first half of the year.”<\/p>\n
![\"null](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-p.v1.20260521.de882f63003d42efbcf9b491a9caf85f_P1.jpg\"\/ "\\"Korea")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joo Byung-ki, chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, reports on the findings of an investigation into flour price-fixing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17218,17217,17220,17219,1590,550,146,112,17216],"class_list":["post-25661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-seoul","tag-antitrust-enforcement","tag-cartel-reporting","tag-corporate-compliance","tag-fair-trade-act","tag-ftc","tag-korea-fair-trade-commission","tag-lee-jae-myung","tag-seoul","tag-whistleblower-reward"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}