Seoul Metro Sweeps Seoul City's Anti-Corruption and Integrity Best Practice Contest

Awarded Best Practice in Integrity Implementation and Encouragement Prize for Anti-Corruption Best Practice... Selected as Best Practice for 4 Consecutive Years
Top Evaluation for Improving Response to Sexual Misconduct Cases Including Establishment of Sexual Harassment Counseling Chatbot System
Excellent Evaluation for Efforts to Eradicate Power Abuse Based on Sensitivity Survey and Countermeasure Development
President Baekho: "This Award is the Result of Company-wide Efforts to Spread Integrity and Ethical Culture and Eradicate Corruption"

Seoul Metro (President Baek Ho) achieved the remarkable feat of being selected for excellent cases for four consecutive years by winning the grand prize in the Integrity Practice category and an encouragement award in the Anti-Corruption category at the Anti-Corruption and Integrity Practice Best Case Contest hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government Audit Committee.

This contest evaluated anti-corruption and integrity practice cases from Seoul city, autonomous districts, investment and funded institutions, and their affiliated public officials. A total of 97 cases were submitted, with one grand prize, two excellence awards, and three encouragement awards selected in both the Anti-Corruption and Integrity Practice categories.

In response to the societal expansion of the concept of corruption to include sexual harassment as a corrupt act, Seoul Metro recognized the limitations of existing systems and frameworks and conducted a self-assessment that revealed insufficient proactive and preemptive measures to protect victims. Based on this, the company has been promoting extensive improvements.

The company expanded the scope to include subsidiary employees and conducted a full survey on the actual conditions of sexual harassment, using the results to establish and implement measures to prevent recurrence.

The “Improvement of the Workplace Sexual Misconduct Response System,” selected as the grand prize-winning case in the Integrity Practice category of this contest, is the project Seoul Metro focused on most intensively. It includes three main directions: ▲ establishing a meticulous safety net prioritizing victim protection ▲ a zero-tolerance strict punishment principle for perpetrators ▲ and company-wide internalization of gender awareness through education.

First, related regulations and ordinances, which form the foundation for preventing and responding to sexual misconduct incidents, were revised. Stalking crimes and online sexual crimes were explicitly added as disqualifications in the personnel regulations for recruitment. The “Guidelines for Prevention of Sexual Harassment, Sexual Violence, and Secondary Damage” were also revised to include stalking crime victims among those protected. Previous regulations did not reflect new types of sexual misconduct such as stalking.

A chatbot system was introduced for sexual harassment counseling services. This improved accessibility to information on sexual misconduct cases and reporting methods while ensuring strict anonymity for victims. Considering victims’ concerns about identity exposure, a system was newly established to allow proxy reporting in cases of sexual crimes. In line with the zero-tolerance strict punishment principle, perpetrators of sexual crimes are promptly subjected to personnel actions and excluded from promotions and welfare benefits, thereby strengthening penalties.

Additionally, Seoul Metro viewed company-wide internalization of gender awareness as essential for preventing sexual misconduct and conducted tailored face-to-face training by rank. Risk behavior cases derived from in-depth employee interviews (FGI) were incorporated into the training.

The “Eradicating Gapjil to Establish a Culture of Integrity,” which received an encouragement award in the Anti-Corruption category, aims to create a culture of mutual respect and companionship. It established a company-wide implementation system by selecting strategic tasks such as ▲ establishing a preemptive prevention system for Gapjil ▲ reinforcing the detection and response system for Gapjil ▲ strict punishment of perpetrators and protection of victims ▲ and fostering and settling a zero Gapjil culture internally and externally. The company conducted an internal Gapjil sensitivity survey to understand the severity and experience of Gapjil, using the results to derive strategic tasks and enhance effectiveness.

Seoul Metro has been selected as an excellent case for four consecutive years in the Anti-Corruption and Integrity Practice Best Case Contest hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government Audit Committee. Last year, it also received the grand prize in the Anti-Corruption category and an encouragement award in the Integrity Practice category.

Baek Ho, President of Seoul Metro, said, “This award is the result of the management’s strong commitment to integrity policies, the spread of company-wide integrity and ethical culture, and accelerated efforts to eradicate corruption. We will not be complacent but will continue to actively identify and improve factors that cause corruption and lead the way in spreading ESG values through the practice of integrity and ethical management, establishing ourselves as a model public enterprise.”

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