Gyeonggi-do Significantly Strengthens 'Code of Conduct for Public Officials' to Prevent Conflicts of Interest

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has revised the operational rules of the Gyeonggi Province Public Officials' Code of Conduct to support fair and honest job performance by public officials affiliated with the province, including the prevention of conflicts of interest.

This revision is in preparation for the enforcement of the Public Officials Conflict of Interest Prevention Act, which was passed last May, and includes the basis for the conflict of interest prevention pledge and detailed implementation plans.

According to the pledge, all public officials affiliated with the province must prioritize the public interest and handle their duties accordingly when a conflict of interest arises, as servants to the residents of the province.

Additionally, if private interests are involved in the course of performing duties and hinder fair and honest job performance, officials must report and avoid the duties in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

They must not provide non-public information learned during their duties to themselves, parents, spouses, children, or third parties including relatives, to engage in or assist with property transactions or investments such as securities or real estate.

The province plans to collect this conflict of interest prevention pledge from all public officials affiliated with the province by the second half of this year.

With the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic increasing demand for non-face-to-face administrative work such as flexible working hours, the province has also established behavioral standards to prevent leakage of non-public information during telecommuting to minimize corruption blind spots.

Public officials must delete confidential work materials after use according to the Gyeonggi Province Information Security Basic Guidelines when handling such materials at their telecommuting locations. Necessary measures must be taken to prevent leakage of non-public development information to family members or third parties.

Furthermore, public officials must submit a security pledge in advance to their department heads to ensure they do not disclose or speak about unpublished or undecided government policies during external lectures. It also states that using non-public information learned during duties for lecture activities may result in punishment under relevant laws.

In addition, the province has established behavioral standards related to power harassment to effectively respond to the increasing number of power harassment damage reports by organizing related content.

Specifically, the direct power harassment damage report hotline to the Governor of Gyeonggi Province, opened on the Gyeonggi Provincial Government website helpline and the employee-only communication board within the administrative portal, has been codified in the Code of Conduct.

It is also specified that retaliatory acts such as secondary harm by the perpetrator can be punished according to related regulations, and if the investigation of a power harassment damage report reveals a violation of the Public Officials Code of Conduct, commendations cannot be reduced under the Local Public Officials Disciplinary Rules.

Hayoung-min, the province’s investigation officer, emphasized, "Corruption and unfair practices by public officials undermine the foundation of fairness and trust in our society, causing great loss to the residents. We will establish detailed behavioral standards that meet the expectations of residents to instill the values of fairness and integrity in the public service community."

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