The anticorruption bill, which passed the National Assembly Tuesday, continued to stoke questions over its efficacy and fairness despite expectations that it would curb hopes influence peddling.
Under the bill, those who receive more than 1 million won ($900) in cash, gifts or services will be jailed for up to three years ― whether or not the money or gifts were related to their duties or positions and whether or not they were asked to offer favors in return.
The anticorruption bill targets some nongovernmental public groups ― private school teachers and journalists ― as well as civil servants. Private school owners were also included on the list at the last minute. But other groups including lawmakers, civic group activists, lawyers and conglomerate executives were excluded, stoking criticism.
Further, spouses will also be penalized if they accept more than 1 million won in cash, gifts or services.
The legislation is expected to curb the scale of gifts, congratulatory money, condolence money and cash given in an attempt to build cozy relations with government officials, employees at private schools and employees in the media.
Major civic groups have welcomed the bill, claiming that it will improve transparency in areas including personnel policy.
But some lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties continue to question the bill’s feasibility and a possible breach of the Constitution.
Rep. Lee Sang-min of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy said the law was influenced by conflicts of interest.
Lee was quoted as criticizing his fellow lawmakers for neglecting clauses that would directly affect them, citing conflict of interest.
Some lawmakers are also prone to pressuring companies to hire their relatives, while arranging adviser posts at various private entities, he claimed.
Lee and some other critics also denounced the Assembly for omitting civic group activists from the target list, claiming they were also subject to scrutiny considering past cases. They cited a leader from a citizens’ right advocate group monitoring speculative capital, who was recently taken into custody for taking bribes from the U.S.-based Lone Star Funds.
Rep. Kwon Sung-dong of the ruling Saenuri Party also pointed out possible abuse of power by authorities due to the wide scope of fields that the bill targets.
According to current laws, prosecutors must prove that a suspected official received monetary gifts for a specific purpose. The new anticorruption law, however, states that all those who accept more than 1 million won, regardless of the purpose, will be subject to punishment.
Kwon raised the possibility of violation of the Constitution, stressing that the law restricts the nongovernmental sector too tightly. In addition, he cited the issue of fairness, saying that there were many private sectors “with public functions” like private schools and the media.
He also said the law went against the freedom of conscience, pointing to the obligation to report to investigative authorities any irregularities committed by a spouse.
