CONTENTS
- 1. The Jeonju Attorney Listens to the Client's Account of the Relief Fund Dismissal
- - The Account of the Client
- - ‘Public Interest Report Relief Funds’ Explained by the Daeryun Jeonju Attorney
- 2. The Jeonju Attorney's Strategy for Preparing the Appeal for Payment of Relief Funds
- - Daeryun Jeonju Attorney Argues the Determination of Lawfulness
- - Daeryun Jeonju Attorney Argues the Client's Harm for the Payment of Relief Funds
- 3. Jeonju Attorney Succeeds in the Appeal, Reversing the First-Instance Decision
- - If You Need the Payment of Relief Funds, Turn to Daeryun Law Firm
1. The Jeonju Attorney Listens to the Client's Account of the Relief Fund Dismissal
The client wished to appeal the dismissal of the application for payment of relief funds ruled at first instance.
The client urgently needed the payment of relief funds, and a Daeryun Jeonju attorney examined the client's situation in detail.
The Account of the Client
The client worked at a child care facility and suffered significant harm when their identity was exposed in the course of filing an internal public interest report regarding the unlawful conduct of the head of that facility.
The client was dismissed and continually received abusive text messages and phone calls demanding that the report be withdrawn.
The client lost their job in an instant and even suffered psychological harm.
The client applied for relief funds to compensate for the harm, but received a notice stating that the requirements were not met and the relief funds could not be provided.
The client requested that the Daeryun Jeonju attorney file an appeal for the payment of relief funds.
‘Public Interest Report Relief Funds’ Explained by the Daeryun Jeonju Attorney
After making a public interest report, a public interest reporter may receive a reward, compensation, or relief funds from the State.
Reward: where the public interest report contributes to the public interest, such as by preventing acts of harm to the public interest or improving systems
Compensation: where a financial benefit accrues to a government agency following a public interest report
Relief funds: where the reporter or their family suffers harm or incurs unnecessary financial expenditure as a result of a public interest report
Conditions for payment of relief funds
-Physical and psychological treatment costs
-Relocation costs due to transfer, dispatch work, etc.
-Costs of litigation proceedings arising from the public interest report
-Lost wages during the period of the adverse measure (up to 36 months)
-Other significant economic loss
In this client's case, economic and psychological harm arose from the public interest report, so the client could apply for ‘relief funds’.
2. The Jeonju Attorney's Strategy for Preparing the Appeal for Payment of Relief Funds
The Daeryun Jeonju attorney prepared a thorough argument addressing the grounds asserted by the defendant in order to win the client's appeal.
Daeryun Jeonju Attorney Argues the Determination of Lawfulness
The ground on which the defendant argued for the dismissal of the relief fund payment was that ‘the report in this case was received and processed anonymously, the reporter's personal details were not confirmed, and the formal requirements for a public interest report under Article 8 of the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act were therefore not satisfied’.
■Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act Article 8 (Method of Public Interest Reporting)
(1) A person who intends to make a public interest report shall submit a document (including an electronic document) stating the following matters.
-Personal details of the public interest reporter, such as name, resident registration number, address, and contact information
-The person committing the act of harm to the public interest
-The content of the act of harm to the public interest
-The purpose and grounds of the public interest report
The Daeryun Jeonju attorney submitted as evidence the civil petition documents that the client had filed with all personal details, including name, resident registration number, and address, and argued that this was not an anonymous report.
The attorney argued that the public official had mistakenly recorded the report as anonymous and that the matter arose from inadequate intake, so the original decision was unlawful and unjust and should be revoked, and that the client should be recognized as a public interest reporter and paid relief funds.
Daeryun Jeonju Attorney Argues the Client's Harm for the Payment of Relief Funds
The Daeryun Jeonju attorney argued the client's harm and emphasized the need for the payment of relief funds.
As a result of the public interest report, the client was forced to resign and was subjected to continual threatening messages from the facility head, suffering economic and psychological harm.
The Daeryun Jeonju attorney argued that the client's current situation met the requirements for an application for the payment of relief funds and that relief funds were needed to compensate for the harm caused by the public interest report.
3. Jeonju Attorney Succeeds in the Appeal, Reversing the First-Instance Decision
The court accepted the Daeryun Jeonju attorney's position, deciding that “there was a serious error of mistaken fact in confirming the party who was the public interest reporter, which affected the outcome. Because the client suffered great harm, including the unilateral deprivation of their position as a result of the public interest report, the client should be eligible for the payment of relief funds.”
With the help of the Daeryun Jeonju attorney, the client was able to reverse the first-instance judgment and succeed in obtaining the payment of relief funds.
If You Need the Payment of Relief Funds, Turn to Daeryun Law Firm
Through measures such as expanding relief funds under the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act, the Commission is working to ensure that no blind spots arise in the protection of reporters.
Despite such efforts, the reality is that applications for the payment of relief funds are still not processed smoothly.
Remedies against an unjust disposition by an administrative agency ultimately come down to an administrative appeal or administrative litigation.
Daeryun Law Firm provides tailored assistance to protect clients' rights and interests, led by attorneys with extensive experience and know-how in the fields of administrative litigation and administrative remedies.
If you need help regarding the payment of relief funds and administrative dispositions as in the case above, please reach out to a Daeryun Law Firm Jeonju attorney.
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