SEOUL: A tough new anti-graft law came into force in South Korea Wednesday with many hailing it as a milestone to help root out widespread low-level corruption. The law, welcomed by NGOs, targets teachers bribed by parents to give better grades, journalists paid to give favorable publicity and officials bought off by businessmen to speed up bureaucratic processes. Local media organizations have been under criticism for years for removing or dismissing stories that are damaging to big advertisers. Dubbed the Kim Young-Ran law after the former supreme court judge who drafted it, the sweeping legislation covers some four million public servants and employees of education institutions in the country of 50 million. Some restaurants recently introduced “Kim Young-Ran menus” priced at 29,900 won or less.

Source: Manila Times September 28, 2016 12:00 UTC