"Eradicating Private Sector Employment Requests for Public Officials' Children"... Anti-Corruption Commission to Promote Revision of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act

Announcement of Major Work Plans for 2022 in Anti-Corruption and Reform

'Workplace Harassment and Power Abuse Regulations'... Included in Public Officials' Code of Conduct
Mandatory Prior Notification for Holding or Purchasing Real Estate Development Workers

Hansam Seok, Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, announcing the 2022 Anti-Corruption and Integrity Policy Implementation Plan on the 6th at the briefing room of the Government Complex Sejong. (Photo by Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) plans to include workplace harassment in public institutions within the scope of abuse of power under the "Code of Conduct for Public Officials" and to amend the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act to prohibit public officials from making improper solicitations to the private sector. Additionally, a comprehensive survey on regular recruitment practices will be conducted across all public institutions to promote a transparent recruitment culture.

On the 6th, the ACRC announced its 2022 anti-corruption and integrity promotion plan reflecting these measures. This plan supplements the key anti-corruption and reform tasks among the ACRC’s priority agendas for this year, which were included in the New Year’s work report released on December 29 last year.

First, the ACRC intends to push for an amendment to the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act within this year that prohibits public officials from making improper solicitations to the private sector and allows the ACRC to directly collect fines for violations. The amendment bill, proposed two years ago by Democratic Party lawmakers Park Young-soon and Yoo Dong-soon, is still pending in the National Assembly’s standing committee. The ACRC expects that once the law is amended, it will significantly help eradicate practices such as public officials soliciting employment for their children or coercing donations in related private industries. Separately, a comprehensive survey on regular recruitment practices will be conducted targeting all public institutions.

The ACRC will also include workplace harassment in public institutions within the scope of abuse of power under the Code of Conduct for Public Officials and prepare detailed behavioral standards by March to strengthen protective measures for victims, such as mandatory separation of perpetrators and victims, thereby supplementing the code of conduct. The previously separate evaluations of public institutions’ integrity and anti-corruption policies will be integrated into a single evaluation system called the "Comprehensive Integrity Evaluation." This system will comprehensively measure corruption perception and experience from both internal and external perspectives, as well as anti-corruption efforts at various levels of public institutions.

Efforts will be made to ensure the smooth implementation of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act for Public Officials, which will take effect on May 19. All public officials of public institutions such as the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) must mandatorily report if they hold or purchase real estate related to development projects conducted by their affiliated institutions. To this end, the ACRC has instructed each institution to designate and operate conflict of interest prevention officers before the law’s enforcement. The ACRC also plans to prepare a standard guideline for operating the conflict of interest prevention system to support each institution in establishing its own operational guidelines.

A new second five-year comprehensive anti-corruption plan, applicable for the next five years starting next year, will be established. The first comprehensive plan, formulated in 2018, expires this year. Following a roadmap of ▲ task identification by institution (May) ▲ public and expert consultations (June-September) ▲ announcement of the second five-year comprehensive anti-corruption plan (October), the mid- to long-term plan will be disclosed.

The plan will select tasks that need supplementation or continuous promotion from the existing anti-corruption comprehensive plan and discover new tasks to identify core strategies and tasks for stabilizing the country’s ranking within the top 20 in national integrity. The previously separate evaluations of public institutions’ integrity and anti-corruption policies will be integrated into a single evaluation system called the "Comprehensive Integrity Evaluation." This system will comprehensively measure corruption perception and experience from both internal and external perspectives, as well as anti-corruption efforts at various levels of public institutions.

Additionally, it is planned to mandate face-to-face integrity education for elected and senior public officials such as ministers, vice ministers, mayors, and county governors. Specialized educational programs, including integrity leadership courses, will also be significantly expanded.

Han Sam-seok, Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau at the ACRC, said, "This year is the time to solidly implement the anti-corruption and integrity policies we have established so far and focus on producing tangible results that the public can feel." He added, "The ACRC will continue to take the lead in creating a clean Republic of Korea this year as well."

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