"Public Officials Conflict of Interest Prevention Act, Must Pass in the 21st National Assembly"

Kwonikwi: "Legislation Essential for Comprehensive Management and Control of Public Officials' Conflicts of Interest"
Advanced countries like the US, Canada, and France regulate through laws, unlike Korea
"The US, hit by the Nixon scandal, has controlled public officials through laws since the 1970s"

Eunjung Park, Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. / Photo by Honam Moon munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chae-seok] The National Assembly has always been a high wall. Despite two attempts over the past seven years, the threshold of the National Assembly has not been crossed. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) aims to promptly enact the 'Public Officials Conflict of Interest Prevention Act' in the 21st National Assembly to strictly regulate family hiring and private contract awards involving high-ranking public officials.

On the 20th, the ACRC stated that once the 21st National Assembly convenes on the 30th of next month, the legislative process for the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act must be initiated as soon as possible. According to the ACRC, related bills were proposed twice in August 2013 and July last year but were blocked by the National Assembly each time. Although a related bill was enacted in March 2015, provisions concerning conflict of interest prevention were excluded.

In 2013, the 'Act on Prohibition of Improper Solicitation and Conflict of Interest Prevention for Public Officials' was submitted to the National Assembly, but the conflict of interest prevention provisions were excluded during parliamentary review. The 'Act on the Prohibition of Improper Solicitation and Receipt of Money or Valuables (Improper Solicitation and Graft Act)' passed by the plenary session of the National Assembly in March 2015 also lacked related provisions. Last July, the 'Public Officials Conflict of Interest Prevention Act' draft was announced for legislation, and after Cabinet approval in January, it was resubmitted to the National Assembly, but its passage during the 20th session ending on the 29th of next month remains uncertain.

The government-proposed Public Officials Conflict of Interest Prevention Act includes eight specific behavioral standards that public officials must observe in conflict of interest situations, such as ▲public officials must report to the head of their institution and avoid duties if they recognize that a person related to their duties has a private interest, ▲they must report to the head of their institution when engaging in private transactions involving money or real estate with related persons, and ▲high-ranking public officials must submit records of their private sector work activities for the three years prior to their appointment.

Although there are currently regulations governing conflicts of interest, they are presidential decrees rather than laws, limiting their binding force, according to the ACRC. The 'Code of Conduct for Public Officials' issued in April 2018 only allows disciplinary action, not criminal penalties, for violations. For example, it is limited as a mandatory norm for public officials like local government heads, who are practically difficult to discipline.

The ACRC believes that to comprehensively manage and control conflicts of interest among public officials, enacting a general law is the only option. They argue that a system must be established to prevent corruption in advance. Investigations and arrests by investigative agencies and public interest reports to the ACRC have limitations in completely eradicating corruption. It is difficult to respond effectively only after incidents occur.

Chairperson Park Eun-jung of the ACRC emphasized, "The current Improper Solicitation and Graft Act prohibits improper solicitations made to public officials performing their duties but does not regulate improper solicitations made by public officials to the private sector." She added, "Regulations must be created to sanction public officials when they make solicitations regarding personnel or sponsorship to the private sector."

An ACRC official stated, "We are in a situation where a system to fundamentally prevent corruption is not yet established," adding, "Whenever public official corruption occurs and post-event responses focused only on punishment are repeated, public distrust in the public service continues to grow."

Unlike Korea, overseas countries have legislated conflict of interest prevention laws to eradicate social corruption scandals. The United States enacted related laws three times in 1962, 1978, and 1989. In 1962, the 'Bribery and Conflict of Interest Act' was enacted; in 1978, the 'Government Ethics Act'; and in 1989, the 'Ethics Reform Act.'

Especially following the 1974 Watergate scandal involving President Richard Nixon, the 1978 Government Ethics Act included provisions such as asset disclosure for high-ranking public officials and recusal from work related to former employers for one year after appointment.

U.S. public officials are prohibited from engaging in work involving personal or business interests or interests of closely related third parties. The law prevents them from even attempting to use their authority for personal gain or that of friends and relatives.

Canada enacted the 'Conflict of Interest Prevention Act' in 2006, restricting public officials' participation in interest-related work, external activities causing conflicts of interest, and contract awards to relatives.

France, through the 2011 'Act on Transparency of Public Activities and Prevention of Conflicts of Interest,' established prohibitions against false or incomplete reporting, restrictions on participation in related meetings, resignation, and obligations to report conflicts of interest.

Chairperson Park stated, "Preventing conflicts of interest is the foremost task to secure trust in the public service, so once the 21st National Assembly convenes, we will proceed with the legislative process to enact this law as quickly as possible."

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