Operation of Intensive Reporting Period for Violations of the Anti-Graft Law During Vacation Season and Chuseok... Local Governments Prepare Improvement Plans for 'Blind Money'

Announcement of the 'Comprehensive Measures to Eradicate Corruption Among Public Officials' on the 14th
Including Promotion of On-site Implementation of the Conflict of Interest Prevention System

Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission giving a special lecture on integrity, focusing on the government's anti-corruption policy direction and the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act for public officials, at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in the Government Complex Sejong on the morning of the 12th. (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), the main government agency in charge of anti-corruption, announced on the 14th a 'Comprehensive Plan to Eradicate Corruption among Public Officials,' which includes operating a focused reporting period for violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act during vacation seasons and the Chuseok holiday. The plan was created to eradicate recent public sector misconduct incidents such as public officials' drunken assaults, sexual misconduct in the military, and real estate speculation by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH).

The ACRC, chaired by Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee, held the 'Central Administrative Agencies and Local Governments Audit Officers Meeting for Eradicating Corruption among Public Officials' on the 13th and 14th, targeting 47 central administrative agencies and 17 metropolitan local governments, to communicate the details of the plan to the agencies.

The plan includes ▲ on-site inspections of corruption-prone areas such as the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and the Code of Conduct for Public Officials ▲ investigation into recruitment irregularities in public institutions ▲ strengthening and reforming the integrity evaluation system ▲ eradicating passive administration and promoting proactive administration.

A focused reporting period for violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act will be operated. Illegal acts such as bribery related to duties and improper solicitations will be referred for investigation and dealt with under a zero-tolerance principle including disciplinary demands. Inspections of frequent violations of the Code of Conduct will be strengthened. In particular, compliance with conflict of interest prevention systems, such as reporting private interests and restrictions on hiring or contracts involving public officials' family members, will be jointly inspected.

Verification will be conducted on false or fraudulent claims for public financial payments such as subsidies to local sports associations, student guidance fees, and support funds for national and public universities. Plans will also be made to improve special adjustment grants that some local governments have illegally or improperly spent under the pretext of overseas training sessions or foreign business trips.

In the second half of the year, an investigation into recruitment irregularities will be conducted across 1,281 public institutions. Focused inspections will be carried out on bribery related to recruitment and compliance with conflict of interest avoidance during recruitment evaluations. Those involved in detected corruption will be referred for investigation and disciplinary action, and victims will be remedied by providing additional recruitment opportunities.

A focused reporting period for public officials' misconduct will be operated until the end of this month. In particular, cases involving abuse of authority or bribery solicitation by high-ranking officials will be promptly transferred to investigative agencies such as the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials. For 1,589 public institutions, the process of handling reports and tips and the management of whistleblower information will be inspected to prevent issues such as whistleblower information leaks.

Additionally, the integrity measurement system will be reformed to include new types of corruption such as conflicts of interest and improper pursuit of private gain by public officials, alongside existing evaluation items focused on bribery, mediation, and solicitation. Sexual misconduct cases involving public officials will also be included as deduction factors in evaluations. Corruption impact assessments will be conducted on internal regulations of major public institutions in sectors such as land, agriculture and forestry, and industry to identify and improve unfair regulations related to conflicts of interest in personnel and contract processes.

Furthermore, from this year, integrity education for high-ranking officials such as ministers and vice ministers will be conducted entirely in face-to-face sessions. The proactive administration review system will be utilized to fundamentally improve passive work behaviors caused by unreasonable laws and regulations.

Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee of the ACRC stated, "To restore public trust, which has been damaged by recent successive misconduct in the public sector, it is necessary to establish strict public service discipline and undergo a thorough reform." She added, "To achieve the goal of entering the world's top 20 most transparent countries, we will actively collaborate with agencies at all levels and employ all policy measures to eradicate remaining corrupt practices still present in various places."

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