'Anti-Corruption' Anti-Corruption Commission Employee Receives Secret External Lecture Fees

A National Rights Commission Employee Cannot Receive External Lecture Fees...Received Fees Without Prior Notification

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] It was revealed through an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection that an employee of the Anti-Corruption Division at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission received lecture fees for 'external lectures,' which are prohibited by the Code of Conduct.

On the 28th, the Board of Audit and Inspection announced the results of the regular audit of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. According to the Board, the Commission is responsible for managing and supervising the conduct of its employees regarding the prohibition of receiving lecture fees for job-related external lectures, in accordance with Article 20 of the Code of Conduct for Public Officials of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

According to Article 20, Paragraphs 1 and 6 of the Code of Conduct for Public Officials, employees are prohibited from receiving any form of compensation, including lecture fees or manuscript fees, when requested to give lectures, speeches, or contributions related to their duties. If any fees are received, they must be returned without delay.

According to Article 3 of the Management Guidelines on External Lectures by Public Officials, employees must obtain prior approval from their department head before conducting external lectures as stipulated in Article 20 of the Commission’s Code of Conduct.

The Board of Audit and Inspection stated, "(Employee A of the Commission) received lecture fees amounting to 1,256,000 KRW despite declaring in advance that no fees would be accepted while giving four external lectures at the Korea Land and Housing Corporation Human Resources Development Institute in 2018 and 2019."

The Board further explained, "In 2020, without obtaining approval from the department head, the employee gave three external lectures at the same institution and submitted an instructor resume stating 'instructor allowance up to a maximum of 150,000 KRW,' receiving lecture fees totaling 1,152,000 KRW. In total, the employee received 2,408,000 KRW in lecture fees over seven occasions and did not return the money."

The Board also pointed out, "(Employee B of the Commission) gave job-related external lectures at the Korea Land Information Corporation in 2016 without prior notification and received 220,000 KRW in lecture fees, which were not returned."

The Board of Audit and Inspection notified the Chairperson of the Commission to take appropriate measures, including disciplinary action, considering the severity of the violations by the two employees who conducted job-related external lectures and received lecture fees without prior notification or department head approval.

Additionally, the Board urged the Commission to thoroughly manage and supervise employees’ compliance with reporting external lectures and related conduct.

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