FROM Sept 28, South Korean journalists, private school teachers and civil servants – but not legislators – as well as their spouses would no longer be allowed to receive gifts worth KRW50,000 (US$44) from job-related contracts.
Under the same circumstances, it will also be illegal for this group, numbering to an estimated four million, to receive meals above KRW30,000 (US$26) or cash gifts above KRW100,000 (US$88) for weddings or funerals.
The prohibition is spelled out – vaguely, according to detractors – in South Korea’s controversial Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, which was approved by Parliament in March last year after four long years of fierce debate.
The Act, also known as the Kim Young-Ran Act after the former Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) chief who first proposed it, was first introduced to stem corruption in the public sector.
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But upon its approval in Parliament, opponents went to court, raising questions about the fairness and apparent ambiguity of some clauses, which they said would invite arbitrary interpretation by South Korean authorities.
Among others, they argued against the inclusion of private school teachers and journalists as “public officials” bound by the law and the fact that the legislators who approved it were not themselves included.
A snapshot of South Korea’s new anti-graft Act. Pic via South Korea’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.
“If the work of private school employees and journalists is considered to be for the public, then lawyers, doctors and civic groups must also be included,” Kang Hyo-sang, a representative from the ruling Saenuri Party said when members submitted revisions to the law this July, Korea Times reported.
Another concern is the apparent vagueness of the Act. According to reports, the Act is silent on key details on how the prohibitions on meal treats and condolence gifts are measured, and whether the circumstances surrounding the giving and receiving of such gifts are considered.
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According to Korea Times: “If is not clear whether a gift worth KRW70,000 (US$62) bought at a discounted rate of KRW49,000 (US$43) would be acceptable.”
“Also at a dinner between a company official and a public worker, if the former has a KRW10,000 (US$8) entre and the latter has one that costs KRW48,000 (US$42), the civil servant is treated to a meal costing more than KRW30,000 (US$26). But if the law calculates the amount by dividing the total amount by the number of participants, the per capita food cost is KRW29,000 (US$25) and the public servant is safe.”
The Korean Bar Association (KBA) reportedly outlined these troubling clauses in a constitutional appeal filed after the Act was passed. Local journalists and their associations, as well as private school organizations filed several petitions challenging the law.
But according to Lexology, the Constitutional Court rejected all challenges and in July this year, upheld the constitutionality of the Act, allowing it to come into force this month.
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According to Straits Times, ahead of the Sept 28 enforcement date, there already appears to be signs of change in South Korea.
The report said ahead of the Chuseok holiday, department stores and retailers offered gift sets costing below KRW50,000 for those looking for appropriate gifts for civil servants.
Restaurants whose clientele typically include government officials introduced set menus offering meals at KRW29,000, and calling them the Kim Young-Ran set.
Companies have also changed internal rules on gratification in accordance with the Act, the report said.
Quoting a spokesman for Hyundai Card and Hyundai Capital, Straits Times wrote that the firm was even sending its employees for training on how to “fully understand and respect” the law.
An article on the matter on Lexology’s newsfeed urged firms doing business in Korea to get themselves prepared for the law.
It said the firms should “assess their compliance policies and programs to ensure conformity with the Act.”
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