Eunpyeong-gu Restricts Conduct Detrimental to Dignity Related to Money Transactions Among Public Officials

Eunpyeong-gu Leads Nationwide Local Governments in Establishing Restrictions on Dignity-Damaging Acts Related to Monetary Transactions Among Public Officials...Amendment of Public Officials' Code of Conduct and Changes to External Lecture Reporting Obligations

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Eunpyeong-gu (Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) is taking the lead in revising the "Seoul Special City Eunpyeong-gu Public Officials' Code of Conduct" in line with the enforcement of the "Public Officials' Code of Conduct (Presidential Decree, effective May 27, 2020)," which newly establishes obligations such as "reporting duty only for external lectures receiving honorariums."

Eunpyeong-gu has newly established a clause restricting "acts that damage dignity related to monetary transactions among public officials," limiting monetary transactions and guarantee acts among public officials regardless of job relevance, to prevent corruption among public officials in advance and to foster a sound public service environment.

This is the first time among local governments nationwide to add a "restriction on monetary transactions among public officials" regulation to the current code of conduct, which stipulates prohibitions on conflicts of interest between public officials and related parties, with the intention of fundamentally blocking the possibility of unfortunate incidents.

In addition, the revision immediately reflects the amendment to the presidential decree that imposes reporting obligations only on external lectures where public officials receive honorariums and allows for post-reporting.

According to the revision, the current code of conduct requires reporting all external lectures except in exceptional cases, but in the future, public officials will be required to report only external lectures where honorariums are received, and no reporting is necessary if no honorarium is received.

The revised code also permits both prior reporting and post-reporting within 10 days. However, if the head of the affiliated institution judges that the reported external lecture may undermine the fairness of job performance, restrictions may be imposed.

Mayor Kim Mi-kyung said, "This revision of the code of conduct is expected to serve as a foundation for improving the district's integrity by preventing external lectures from being misused as indirect means of bribery and prohibiting acts that damage the dignity of public officials through monetary transactions and guarantee acts among them."

This revision is scheduled for final promulgation (enforcement) on May 27 after legislative notice and review by the ordinance and regulation council.

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