Company: SHG
Filing Date: 2025-04-23
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001193125-25-089950
Chunk: 388

Company: SHINHAN FINANCIAL GROUP CO LTD
Filing Date: 2025-04-23
Form: 20-F
Chunk 388
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 whistleblower. While the final rules do not require employees to first report allegations of wrongdoing through a company’s corporate compliance system, they do seek to incentivize whistleblowers to utilize internal corporate compliance first by, among other things, (i) giving employees who first report information internally the benefit of the internal reporting date for purposes of the SEC program so long as the whistleblower submits the same information to the SEC within 120 days of the initial disclosure; (ii) clarifying that the SEC will consider, as part of the criteria for determining the amount of a whistleblower’s award, whether the whistleblower effectively utilized the company’s corporate compliance program or hindered the function of the program; and (iii) crediting a whistleblower who reports internally first and whose company passes the information along to the SEC, which would mean the whistleblower could receive a potentially higher award for information gathered in an internal investigation initiated as a result of the whistleblower’s internal report.

In addition, the final rules address concerns that the whistleblower rules incentivize officers, directors and those with legal, audit, compliance or similar responsibilities to abuse these positions by making whistleblower complaints to the SEC with respect to information they obtained in these roles by generally providing that information obtained through a communication subject to attorney-client privilege or as a result of legal representation would not be eligible for a whistleblower award unless disclosure would be permitted by attorney conduct rules. Accordingly, officers and directors, auditors and compliance personnel and other persons in similar roles would not be eligible to receive awards for information received in these positions unless (x) they have a reasonable basis to believe that (1) disclosure of the information is necessary to prevent the entity from engaging in conduct that is likely to cause substantial injury to the financial interests of the entity or investors; or (2) the entity is engaging in conduct that will impede an investigation of the misconduct, for example, destroying documents or improperly influencing witnesses; or (y) 120 days have passed since the whistleblower provided the information to senior responsible persons at the entity or 120 days have passed since the whistleblower received the information at a time when these people were already aware of the information.

In Korea, the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers (the “Act on Whistleblowers”) was enacted in March 29, 2011 and became effective on September 30, 2011. Under the Act on Whistleblowers, a “conduct detrimental to the public interest” means any conduct falling under the penalty provisions of certain acts or any conduct subject to administrative measures such as cancellation