Constitutional Court to announce position on controversial

South Korea's Constitutional Court on Monday said it will announce later this week whether applying the controversial anti-graft law to journalists and private school teachers is constitutional, ahead of its official implementation.

The country is set to implement the so-called Kim Young-ran law named after its proposer, which punishes civil servants, journalists and those hired by private schools from receiving goods and services that exceed 1 million won ($879) in total over a one-year period.

The Journalists Association of Korea, as well as other private school organizations, had asked the Constitutional Court to review the law shortly after it was passed in March 2015. Its official implementation is slated for Sept. 28.

Petitioners claim the law violates rights of journalists' freedom, as well as the independence of private education institutions.

"We are carefully reviewing the issue, as it is both an opportunity to root out corruption in the public sector, and a risk for the domestic consumption and the national economy," a court official said.

The court added it has decided to make the announcement Thursday, so the government can better prepare for the official implementation. (Yonhap)