A study on the recent trends in Korea’s anti-corruption policy
Authors:   Korean Association For Corruption Studies, Cho Jae Hyun 
Published: January 2024

In order to implement the constitutional spirit of the just society ideology, our society has made policy, legislative, and judicial efforts to prevent corruption. Anti-corruption policies have been promoted with interest in public officials and the public sector, where integrity and transparency have traditionally been emphasized. Recently, due to the severity of corruption in the private sector, the need for anti-corruption measures is increasing not only in the national sector but also in all national and social sectors, including the private sector. Corruption in the public sector has been subject to control under the Criminal Act, but the limitations of the Criminal Act, the Public Official Ethics Act, and the Code of Conduct for Public Officials have been pointed out in terms of effectiveness in terms of the scope of application of the laws, and for comprehensive anti-corruption measures, The Corruption Prevention and Civil Rights Commission Act was enacted. Since then, there has been legislative development, with corruption in the public sector being controlled by the Anti-Graft Act and the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act. As it was pointed out that there is no possibility of recognizing corruption in the private sector in advance unless it is through public interest reporting, the need to promote public interest reporting and the issue of protection for public interest reporters became issues. The Corruption Prevention and Civil Rights Commission Act limits the subject of reporting to corrupt acts by public officials, so in the case of public interest reporting in the private sector, the lack of protection provisions for public interest reporters was pointed out as a problem. In order to respond to these problems, the Public Interest Reporter Protection Act was enacted. Although the Improper Solicitation and Interest Act, the Anti-Graft Act, the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act, and the Public Interest Reporter Protection Act cannot be said to be complete, they are constantly evolving for a society of integrity. In addition to anti-corruption legislation, in order to prevent social corruption occurring not only in the public sector but also in the private sector, the functional control mechanism of corruption control agencies based on the Constitution and laws must be properly operated. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission must play its role as a control tower for anti-corruption and a clean society by creating an honest public service culture and improving areas vulnerable to corruption. The Board of Audit and Inspection, which was established as the highest audit agency and independent institution under the Constitution, must perform a strong corruption control role by overseeing the national inspection system and exercising the authority to supervise public officials. There is a need to understand the overlapping performance of criminal justice functions by the police, prosecutors, and the Corruption Investigation Office from a complementary perspective, rather than viewing them only from a check-and-confrontation perspective. The complementary competitive system of criminal justice functions is expected to function positively in controlling corruption by stimulating political neutrality and accountability. In order to bring about a positive synergistic effect in the criminal justice function, the Corruption Investigation Office must maintain political neutrality and secure independence in performing its duties.