TITLE: South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service Introduces Uncapped Whistleblower Rewards for Stock Manipulation and Accounting Fraud Reports
BODY:
On February 25, 2026, South Korea's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced a significant overhaul of its whistleblower reward programme to encourage insiders with critical information on market misconduct to come forward.
The FSC will implement three key changes to the reward system. First, it will introduce uncapped financial rewards for reports of stock price manipulation and accounting fraud, removing previous limits on compensation. Second, whistleblowers will receive up to 30 percent of any recovered ill-gotten gains and administrative fines collected as a result of their reports. Third, individuals reporting to other government agencies such as the police will also be eligible for rewards, regardless of whether they report directly to the FSC or the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
The programme aims to incentivise employees and other individuals with direct knowledge of unfair trading practices and accounting irregularities to disclose violations. The FSC has prepared amendments to the Capital Markets Act Enforcement Decree, the External Audit Act Enforcement Decree, and related reward regulations to implement these changes.
The FSC initiated a legislative notice and regulatory change notice period from February 26 to April 7, 2026. Following review by the Office of Legislation, a vice-ministerial meeting, and State Council approval, the amendments are expected to take effect within the second quarter of 2026.
**References:**
Financial Supervisory Commission (South Korea) Press Release, February 25, 2026