"3 Years and 3 Months of the 'Cheongtak Prohibition Act'... Two out of Three Report 'Improper Solicitation'"

Illegal Solicitation 65.6% - Acceptance of Money/Gifts 31.4% - External Lectures (Excess Fees) 3% Order
Number of Reports Decreasing Since Last Year... Anti-Corruption Commission "Evidence of Establishing Life Norms"

Eunjung Park, Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. / Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chae-seok] Over the 3 years and 3 months since the implementation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, two out of three violation reports received by public institutions at all levels were related to 'improper solicitation.' The number of reports has been declining since last year, which the government attributes to the law becoming a norm in daily life.

According to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission on the 18th, among the 8,938 violation reports received from the law's enforcement on September 28, 2016, until the end of last year, 5,863 cases (65.6%) were improper solicitation. This was followed by 2,805 cases (31.4%) of bribery and 270 cases (3%) related to external lectures and other excess payments.

Looking at the annual report status, there were 1,559 cases from September 28, 2016, to 2017, increasing to 4,379 cases in 2018, then decreasing to 3,000 cases last year.

An official from the Commission explained, "As the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act becomes established as a norm in daily life, violation reports naturally seem to be decreasing."

Reports of improper solicitation have increased year by year, especially since the special inspection of recruitment corruption in public institutions began after 2018.

In 2018, improper solicitation reports accounted for 76% of the total with 3,330 cases, and last year, 70% with 2,098 cases.

The number of bribery reports has been declining compared to the early days of the law's enforcement. This is due to the growing awareness that bribery, which can undermine the fairness of job performance, should not be exchanged.

Public institutions have taken disciplinary actions such as requesting investigations, imposing fines, or disciplinary surcharges on 1,391 individuals. Among them, 621 were judged to have violated the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and were subjected to criminal punishment, fines, or disciplinary surcharges.

The remaining 770 individuals are currently under investigation or trial for fines. The Commission expects the number of subjects to be disciplined to increase depending on the investigation and trial results.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.