[Asia Exclusive] 3rd Year in Office... Towards a 'Fair Korea' for All Generations, Not Just the 2030s

Chairperson Eunjeong Park of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 24th. / Photo by Honam Moon munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chae-seok] Since her appointment on June 28, 2017, Park Eun-jung, Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, has consistently emphasized that recruitment solicitations and everyday unfair practices (everyday corruption) are also forms of corruption. Under this philosophy, she achieved concrete results such as the enactment of the Public Finance Recovery Act and contributed to South Korea’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) reaching its highest-ever score of 59 points last year, ranking 39th worldwide.

In an interview with Asia Economy on the 24th, Chairperson Park said, "Among corruption issues that should be resolved in the private sector, representative cases include eradicating everyday corruption and privileges, as well as recruitment irregularities."

She is currently focusing her efforts on ensuring that the 2030 generation, sensitive to the era’s spirit of ‘fairness,’ does not become frustrated by unfairness. On the 26th, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced that it would collaborate with nine universities, including Konkuk University, Sangmyung University, and Seoul Women’s University, to identify youth-related practical issues, regional concerns, and unfairness challenges, and then promote institutional improvements.

Chairperson Park explained, "The reason we conduct a comprehensive inspection of recruitment irregularities in public institutions every year is ultimately to reduce the occurrence of unfairness at the recruitment stage, which causes significant frustration in our society." She also emphasized that the heightened awareness of ‘fairness’ and ‘qualifications’ in our society should not be dismissed as merely a trend among the 2030 generation.

Regarding criticism that despite stricter sanctions on improper solicitations and bribery under the Anti-Graft Act, the perception of ‘as long as you don’t get caught, it’s fine’ still persists, Chairperson Park took a firm stance. She said, "Those already within a group tend to act as they have in the past and sometimes approach conflicts of interest without recognizing whether there is a problem or what the problem is, even if there is one. This reflects a failure to understand the message that, due to the limitations of the current Anti-Graft Act?which can only catch illegal solicitations and bribery after they occur?we need to enact a Conflict of Interest Prevention Act that prevents such illegal acts from happening in the first place."

Chairperson Park stressed that while it is necessary to add a conflict of interest prevention system to the Anti-Graft Act, it is most important not to undermine the original purpose of the Anti-Graft Act. She said, "Going forward, we plan to actively guide what is permitted under the law so that the Anti-Graft Act can continue to serve as a standard for public officials and others to perform their duties fairly without being swayed by solicitations or bribes."

■About Park Eun-jung, Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission

Born in 1952

Bachelor’s degree in Law from Ewha Womans University

Doctorate in Law from the University of Freiburg, Germany

Professor, Department of Law, Ewha Womans University (1990?2004)

Co-Representative, People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (2000?2002)

Member, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2000?2002)

Professor, School of Law, Seoul National University (2004?present)

Chairperson, 3rd Korea Human Rights Foundation (2008?2012)

Non-executive Director, Korea Legal Aid Corporation (2008)

Chairperson, Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (since June 28, 2017)

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