According to the Asia-Pacific Fraud Survey 2017 published by consulting firm EY, 61 percent of South Korea’s employees said they won’t use their in-house whistleblowing hotline even if they witness fraudulent misconduct. This is the highest in the region that has an average of 37 percent. Japan’s corresponding figure was 42 percent, China 40 percent, Australia 27 percent and Indonesia 20 percent. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 26 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean workers have generally negative views about internal whistleblowing, convinced that their companies’ anti-fraud measures are not effective and not fully enforced, a survey showed Friday.
According to the Asia-Pacific Fraud Survey 2017 published by consulting firm EY, 61 percent of South Korea’s employees said they won’t use their in-house whistleblowing hotline even if they witness fraudulent misconduct. This is the highest in the region that has an average of 37 percent. Japan’s corresponding figure was 42 percent, China 40 percent, Australia 27 percent and Indonesia 20 percent.
The report said that many employees still do not trust that their organization will take action on reported complaints or keep them confidential.
The survey was conducted between November 2016 and February 2017 in 1,698 interviews with employees of large companies in 14 countries of the Asia-Pacific territories.
Reflecting the low views, only 29 percent of the South Koreans polled said the anti-corruption policies of their companies were effective, and 53 percent said they were not in full compliance.
Lee Dong-geun, fraud investigation and dispute services leader at EY Han Young, the Korean branch of the firm, said while many South Korean companies have systems in place to prevent non-ethical conduct by their employees, the environment is not yet mature enough for the employees to actively use it.
In order to raise the system’s effectiveness, more post-reporting measures are necessary, he said.
(Yonhap)
