A much contested bill aimed at rooting out corruption passed the parliamentary hurdle yesterday… but critics are already raising concerns that the law's broad scope may make the legislation unconstitutional.<br />Ji Myung-kil explains.<br /><br />A sweeping anti-corruption law will go into effect starting as early as September of next year,... after an 18-month grace period.<br />Under the new law, public figures "with influence" who receive money or gifts worth more than 912 U.S. dollars, as a bribe for a favor can be jailed for three years or fined up to five times the value of the money or gifts received.<br />The list of "people with influence" includes government officials, lawmakers, reporters and the faculty of public and private schools.<br /><br />But critics are already calling for revisions.<br />One problem, they say, is that a person can be charged under both the anti-corruption law and criminal law.<br /><br /><br />"The criminal statute allows for the punishment of those who receive bribes in exchange for favors... and the anti-corruption law allows for the punishment of a person who takes money or gifts in the amount specified -- regardless of the existence of a favor. That could lead to a double punishment for a single person."<br /><br />Another problem is that the law does not have a clause that allows for the punishment of those who asked for the favors or contributed the bribes.<br />The law also strengthens the power of the prosecution,... which has already been criticized for abusing its investigative power,... especially where politicians or CEOs are concerned.<br /><br /><br />"Prosecutors will be able to exploit their authority using the anti-corruption law, as it makes it easier for investigations to be conducted with little proof... <br />since the law says a recipient can be punished even in the absence of a favor."<br /><br />Some lawmakers have also raised concerns that the law is unfair because it does not include civic groups, which are seen as the largest interest groups in society.<br />The law was originally aimed at rooting out cor
