한국에서의 부패방지에 관한 대책

The corruption offense is a cancer hindering the establishment of a sound society. The Korean government, therefore, identifies the issue of corruption as the biggest impediment that prevents the society from building strong communities, and attaches great importance to their projects against corruption. Anti-corruption campaigns pave the way for the reforms of our society and realize social justice and the rule of law. As the issue of corruption can damage social justice and sustainable development, it has become a matter of priority for the existence of a nation. The measures to deal with this issue have been discussed at the national level and an agreement has been made among international community that the matter is not a problem confined to individual countries; a coordinated response among the countries is essential owing to the emergence of multinational corporations and the enlargement of organized crimes around the globe. Consequently, the United Nations has sought for solutions to address the issue of corruption with relevant international law and the United Nations Convention against Corruption was finally made in 2003. Republic of Korea actively has participated in the Convention scheme and enacted the Anti-Corruption Act in 2001. In 2008, the “Act on Anti-corruption and the Establishment and Operation of the Anti-corruption and Civil Rights Commission” was enacted to prevent corruption more thoroughly and promote civil rights. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) now works as a representative state agency against the issue of corruption based upon the 2008 Act. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) from Transparency International which measures national transparency, the Republic of Korea was rated at 5.5 points out of possible 10. In 2009 and 2010, South Korea was ranked No.39 in the list. Korea also ranked respectively 43th in 2011, 45th in 2012, and 46th in 2013. Despite the slight improvement in the ranking in 2014, the level of national integrity in Korea is still very low compared to the large size of the Korean economy. That implies government policies on the issues of corruption have not worked well despite its efforts to fight against corruption. Recently, due to awareness-raising activities regarding the elimination of corruption, the “Anti-Bribery and Unjust Solicitation Act” was enacted by the National Assembly in March 2015. The implementation of “the Anti-Bribery and Unjust Solicitation Act” next year, in 2016 is a case in point. Under the current law, only crimes where there is any relation to reciprocity are subject to punishment. With the introduction of the new law, irrespective of whether there is any relation to reciprocity, offering unjust solicitation or money and other valuables shall be subject to punishment when the amount of bribe exceeds a certain amount. This will significantly limit the acts of giving money and goods including bribe, the root of corruption crimes. Still, for a practical and effective implementation, the followings are demanded. First, a radical change and abolition of unnecessary laws are required. There are more than 700 administrative laws, almost all of which provide penal provisions for acts of violation. The authorities in charge of such punishments have a huge leeway. Ironically, this led the Korean society to become prone to corruption crimes, as offenders frequently provide bribe or money and goods to public officials to avoid punishment. For this reason, unnecessary penal regulations should be abolished, while amending related laws and regulations to curtail the authorities’ leeway and limit the discretion in legal interpretation. In addition, institutional change is desirable. Instead of measures to control corruption through punishments, the Korean government can provide a sound working environment for public officials by amending the laws which often lead to corruption. Second, a change of awareness and value sets towards corruption is needed. Conventionally, the Korean society attached emotions and personal feelings when handling certain matters, instead of making logical judgments. Amid such cultural background, denunciation of public officials has largely been avoided, unless they were involved in serious offenses. Moreover, the court does not punish corrupt public officials with the same strict standards and rules applied to non-public officials. In order to penalize and process corruption crime in a consistent manner, while conforming to a fair and strict judicial system, Koreans need to change their attitude to promote respect of the rule of law. And for practical and effective prevention of corruption crimes, the intentional misinterpretation of the laws and regulations by the judicial authorities should be punished, thereby enabling Koreans to trust the role and power of the judicial authorities and bodies, which in turn will eradicate corruption in the Korean society.