Gwangju Nam-gu, City Recognized as an Excellent Institution for 'Anti-Corruption Evaluation' Two Years in a Row

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, was honored as an excellent institution by ranking first in the autonomous district category for two consecutive years in the ‘2021 Autonomous District and Public Service Related Organizations Anti-Corruption Policy Evaluation’.

According to Nam-gu on the 16th, Gwangju City conducted an anti-corruption policy evaluation to encourage the promotion of anti-corruption and integrity policies and to spread excellent integrity policies.

This evaluation was conducted on a total of eight organizations, including three basic autonomous districts?Dong-gu, Nam-gu, and Seo-gu?as well as five public service related institutions such as Gwangju Environment Corporation and Kim Dae-jung Convention Center. Buk-gu and Gwangsan-gu, each with a population of over 400,000, were excluded as they are evaluated by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

Nam-gu recorded the highest scores among the three autonomous districts in four evaluation areas: establishment of anti-corruption promotion plans and creation of an integrity ecosystem, securing effectiveness of corruption control, and achievements in integrity administration and management.

In particular, Nam-gu received favorable evaluations for separately establishing the Nam-gu Ombudsman to smoothly handle grievances and protect residents’ rights, actively addressing complex and diverse complaints under the four major principles of independence, fairness, reliability, and confidentiality.

Additionally, the initiative to promote Integrity Happy Call policies, aimed at specifically identifying causes of corruption and preparing effective improvement measures to enhance external integrity, was also well received.

In fact, last year Nam-gu conducted investigations commissioned to a professional firm targeting construction management and supervision contracts over 5 million won, budget items with total subsidies over 2.5 million won paid to individuals and organizations, and nine administrative tasks related to permits and approvals.

Furthermore, a workplace integrity evaluation was conducted targeting 60 mid-level officials (grades 4-5), where superiors, colleagues, and subordinates assessed each other’s integrity, contributing to maintaining organizational integrity and fostering a culture of integrity within public service through self-management.

A Nam-gu official stated, “We will do our best to firmly root a culture of integrity within the public service by strengthening autonomous internal controls through building anti-corruption infrastructure and promoting new policies such as the Ombudsman and Integrity Happy Call.”

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