The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Inspects 491 Public-Related Organizations for Abuse of Authority and Discretion Over 3 Years

"Three-Year Plan for Inspecting Regulations in Corruption-Prone Areas of Public Institutions
Focused Inspection on Contract Regulations with Risks of Abuse of Authority and Discretion"

Chairman Eunjeong Park of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. / Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government has decided to inspect unfair and unreasonable regulations of 491 public-related organizations over the next three years. This is to preemptively block factors such as abuse of authority and discretion in contracts between public institutions and the private sector.

On the 24th, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) announced that it has prepared the "Plan to Promote Corruption Impact Assessment for a Thorough Inspection of Regulations in Corruption-Prone Areas of Public Institutions." It stated that this effort aims to improve the repeated unfair practices of public-related organizations despite audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection and criticisms from the National Assembly.

This year, 187 institutions will be inspected. This includes 16 market-type public enterprises, 20 quasi-market-type public enterprises, 49 local public corporations and public agencies in urban development, tourism, and transportation sectors, and 102 in facility management. Starting with public enterprises and local public corporations this year, quasi-governmental agencies will be inspected next year, followed by other public institutions in 2022.

The ACRC said it plans to focus on reviewing unfair and unreasonable regulations that have the potential for abuse of authority and discretion. Additionally, welfare regulations and personnel regulations will be included in the review if necessary. This is to reduce possibilities of excessive subsidies, favoritism in providing goods, and abuse of discretion in hiring and promotion.

The inspection will be conducted by comparing regulation items of other public institutions with similar work characteristics to identify problems such as unreasonable and unfair contract clauses, and by examining whether the regulations comply with the standards of corruption impact assessment.

The ACRC plans to start by identifying issues through analysis of audit results from the Board of Audit and Inspection and disciplinary status data this month. Next month, it will hold a briefing session for public institutions to explain the purpose of the inspection and request cooperation in discovering tasks.

In April, it will gather citizens' opinions through expert roundtable discussions and the "People's Thinking Box." After collecting opinions from related agencies, it will enhance the validity of improvement plans and then recommend these plans to the relevant institutions.

Im Yoonju, Director of the Corruption Management Bureau at the ACRC, asked for public interest and cooperation from public-related organizations regarding the improvement of their regulations. Director Im expressed hope that "through this inspection, fair contract practices between public institutions and the private sector can be established."

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