No sound economic development without fighting corruption South Korea’s new government must face the task
"In his attempt to boost economic growth and fulfill his promise to make South Korea one of the world's top seven economies, it is highly disappointing that the President’s first step is to weaken the country’s anti-corruption agency. An impartial watchdog is essential for a clean business environment", said Geo-Sung Kim, Chairperson at TI-Korea and a board member of TI.
Reducing corruption means increasing efficiency and to do that, the new government should:
○ Work out a comprehensive strategy to address corruption, especially corruption in the private sector and overseas bribery; taking necessary measures to strengthen the national anti-corruption agency and to ensure its independence
○ Encourage participation from civil society in the fight against corruption and in monitoring the implementation of international anti-corruption instruments, like the UN Convention Against Corruption and the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention
The decision to consolidate the agencies came on 4 February, through the Preparing Commission of the New Government. Since then, TI Korea rallied 311 NGOs nationwide and has been taking public actions to halt the dismantling of KICAC.
South Korea is set to ratify the UNCAC, yet as it took a step in that direction by passing a bill on asset recovery, on the same day, Parliament also approved a bill to close KICAC. The dismantling of KICAC will further undermine and erode its independence and clearly runs counter to the provisions of the UNCAC, by shifting the KICAC from President’s Office to that of the Prime Minister’s.
"The relegation of KICAC means putting the cart before the horse and is creating an adverse effect on the drive against corruption in the country which has gained momentum over the past 10 years", said Liao Ran, Senior Programme Coordinator for South and East Asia at TI.
Geared by international trends and public demand, especially through participation and initiation from civil society, South Korea has introduced rules and regulations, and the general public is increasingly becoming aware of the importance of good governance, integrity and anti-corruption. With promotion from civil society, the Anti-Corruption Law was enacted in 2001 and KICAC was upgraded from a presidential advisory board to a national-level anti-corruption agency in 2002．
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Transparency International is the civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption.
Media Contacts:
Berlin: Gypsy Guillen Kaiser
Tel.+49 30 343820662 ggkaiser@transparency.org
Korea (South) Geo-Sung Kim
Chairperson, Transparency International - Korea
Board Member, Transparency International
Tel. +82-2-739-2260, Mob. +82-19-292-9292 gs@ti.or.kr
Sung-Goo Kang
Secretary General, Transparency International - Korea
Tel. +82-2-717-6211Mob. +82-11-9865-2666sgk@ti.or.kr
웹사이트: http://www.ti.or.kr
연락처
Korea (South) Geo-Sung Kim
Chairperson, Transparency International - Korea
Board Member, Transparency International
Tel. +82-2-739-2260, Mob. +82-19-292-9292 이메일 보내기
