Kim Young-ran Law

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The Constitutional Court has ruled the so-called Kim Young-ran anticorruption law to be legal. The disputed law will go into effect September 28th.

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The Constitutional Court on Thursday rendered its final verdict on the anticorruption Kim Young-ran law as constitutional.The court found all four contentious sticking points as legal. First, the court ruled that the provision subjecting journalists and private school faculty to also abide by the law is not against the Constitution. Its reason? The court said that corruption in media and education has great ramificiations and that the same level of integrity required for public officials is also necessary. The court also justified the clause that would punish those subject to the Kim Young-ran law if they fail to report the receipt of illicit gifts to their spouses if they are aware of it.The court also ruled that presidential decrees restricting meals and cash gifts were constitutional. The court also acknowledged the claim that what makes an "illegal favor" is not always very clear.

[Soundbite] Bae Bo-yun(Public relations official, Constitutional Court) : "The law's aim is justified because the integrity of public sector officials is required to fundamentally root out corruption and create a just society..."

With the Constitutional Court's ruling on the pending points of contention, the anti-corruption law will go into effect on September 28th.