Recommendation to Improve 155 Corruption Risk Factors in the First Half, Including Reappointment Restrictions for Child Abuse Expert Committee Members

Jeon Hyun-hee, Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. (Photo by Asia Economy DB)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced on the 16th that it conducted a corruption impact assessment in the first half of the year and found 155 corruption risk factors in 71 out of 1,010 newly enacted or revised laws and regulations of central administrative agencies, recommending improvements.

The Commission stated that the number of improvement recommendations increased by about 50% compared to the same period last year (49 laws, 103 cases), as the recent assessment also evaluated factors hindering the public's right to know and fairness.

The main areas of improvement recommendations include ▲specification and objectification of discretionary provisions to control excessive exercise of discretion and prevent corrupt acts (42 cases, 27.1%) ▲establishment of conflict of interest prevention measures to prevent private interests from interfering in public duties (41 cases, 26.5%) ▲enhancement of predictability to guarantee legal stability for the public (28 cases, 18.1%), among others.

A representative case is the recommendation to improve the reappointment limitation regulation for members of the Child Abuse Case Expert Committee. According to the 'Enforcement Rules of the Child Welfare Act,' heads of local governments are required to form the 'Child Abuse Case Expert Committee' to deliberate and decide on ▲whether to file charges against child abuse acts ▲whether protective measures for the victimized child have been taken ▲whether support for the victimized child and their family has been provided.

However, there was no regulation limiting the reappointment of members, which posed a risk of corruption due to long-term reappointment of certain members. Also, there was no conflict of interest prevention regulation for members, which could allow private interests to interfere in the deliberation agenda.

Accordingly, the Commission established regulations limiting the number of reappointments for committee members and provisions for disqualification, objection, and recusal to exclude members with conflicts of interest.

Additionally, the 'Enforcement Decree of the Rural and Fishing Village Maintenance Act' defined the requirements for designating specialized agencies for the vacant house information system too broadly and ambiguously, allowing arbitrary decisions depending on the discretion of the person in charge.

The Commission recommended specifying the designation requirements for specialized agencies, including concrete qualification requirements related to relevant technology, the necessary scale of facilities, and the required number of personnel.

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