Repeated Crimes by Public Officials... Expansion of 'Gongjikja Ethics Act' Application Needed

Public Officials Pursuing Personal Gain Through Personal Information Trade and Embezzlement
Public Officials Ethics Act Focused Only on Financial Corruption and High-Ranking Officials

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Crimes committed by public officials, including the embezzlement of 11.5 billion won by a civil servant at Gangdong-gu Office in Seoul, are occurring one after another. The self-serving actions of civil servants who are not high-ranking officials are coming to the forefront. Crimes are occurring indiscriminately, not only embezzlement but also the trafficking of personal information to gain private benefits.

In December last year, the person who handed over the residence of the female victim in the "Jamsil-dong Villa Murder Case" in Songpa-gu, Seoul, was also a civil servant A (40) belonging to the Construction Department of Gwonseon-gu Office in Suwon City. In 2020, it was revealed that Choi, who was serving as a social service agent, illegally provided personal information to Jo Joo-bin, the operator of the "Doctor's Room." All of them have been brought to criminal court.

The social impact caused by crimes committed by public officials is greater than that of other crimes. Professor Lee Byung-hoon of the Department of Sociology at Chung-Ang University said, "Although the national integrity level has been rising for five consecutive years, citizens feel alienated due to crimes committed by public officials who are supposed to serve the nation," adding, "Korea’s already low social capital could be further lost."

According to the "Legatum Prosperity Index" released by the think tank Legatum Institute in 2019, Korea’s social capital ranked 142nd out of 167 countries, placing it near the bottom. Social capital refers to intangible capital derived from trust between individuals or trust of members in national institutions.

Criticism that the scope of application of the Public Officials Ethics Act should be expanded arises from these reasons. The Korea Institute of Public Administration has pointed out that the Public Officials Ethics Act focuses only on financial corruption such as stocks and assets and on high-ranking officials. According to the Public Officials Ethics Act, the registration and disclosure of assets are limited to general national and local government officials of grade 4 or higher and equivalent appointed officials.

Concerns remain that even with system enhancements such as the implementation of the Public Officials Conflict of Interest Prevention Act in May, crimes due to lax discipline cannot be prevented. Professor Lee analyzed, "There are systems like the Public Officials Ethics Act to preemptively suppress crimes by public officials," but "the atmosphere of self-interest pursuit prevalent in the public sector after employment leads to crimes."

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