TI-Korea CPI 2019 Press Release
January 23, 2020
Transparency International-Korea
Report on South Korea’s transparency from the 2019 Corruption Perception Index (CPI 2019)
“We must promote a sustainable and systematic anti-corruption policy more strongly
and rise to a more developed country.”
South Korea ranks 39th out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released on January 23, 2020. The country received a score of 59 out of 100, which is a significant improvement by six points compared to 2018’s result.
In recent years, points and rankings have improved rapidly. Also, the growth in intellectual property has become more apparent, creating a definite turning point to a more developed country.
In particular, among the data source materials used to create the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), including those that are directly related to corruption in the public office sector, have improved and had relatively high scores compared to other countries.
We understand that the improvement has been a result of the current regime’s anti-corruption policies. Also, the political sector, which had been stagnant until 2018, has improved and should be evaluated accurately.
However, corruption in public offices associated with daily economic activity has not significantly improved. Among the OECD countries, South Korea ranks 27th out of 36 countries.
Although South Korea has moved three slots higher among the OECD countries, it is still low (ranks 9th) if compared with countries within the Asia-Pacific region considering its economic development.
Therefore, we strongly urge Korean society and the government to promote a more sustainable and systematic anti-corruption policy to rise into a developed country, taking advantage of CPI 2019’s press release.
In particular, measures should be taken to improve the integrity of the private sector, such as businesses, and an autonomous anti-corruption institution. Also, a strong culture of integrity through governmental collaboration with private sectors should be promoted.
Today, Transparency International – Korea advocates for implementing the following anti-corruption policy agenda, hoping that in 2020 Korea will become a more transparent and developed country. TI-Korea also urges the government, the parliament, the judiciary, and all stakeholders to take an active part in implementing these tasks.
What must be done:
- Reorganize the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) to further strengthen its role as an independent authority for the smooth and robust implementation of the anti-corruption policies.
- Establish a high-ranking official corruption investigation agency with total independence and political neutrality to eradicate corruption and abuse of power among government officials.
- To get rid of the distrust of the judiciary, the saying “One law for the rich and another for the poor” should be eliminated by restoring the citizen’s trust through stricter punishment of high-level and chaebol corruptions.
- Strictly enforce the Kim Young-ran Law, and improve the effectiveness in eradicating corruption.
- Greater efforts should be made to improve corporate governance and overcome corrupt practices while introducing a full-scale punitive damages scheme.
- Expand the scope of the whistleblower protection law to include realistic protection measures for whistleblowers.
- Properly implement and expand effective integrity education at all levels in society.
- Restore and promote the collaborative integrity governance agreements among the public, business, political, and civil society so that they can implement integrity tasks in their respective fields.
- Promote the anti-corruption culture through collaborative and independent anti-corruption campaigns between public and private sectors to be led by civil citizens.
23rd January 2020
Transparency International-Korea (South) Chapter
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Prepared/translated by:
Andra Vitola Koranteng
Abe Sumalinog