Youth Integrity Discussion 2014
A youth integrity discussion event was administered by Transparency International Korea Chapter.
Date & Time: December 30, 2014, 10:00 ~ 2:00PM
Place: South Korean Parliament Hall Building, Seminar Room 3, Seoul
The “2014 Youth Discussion Regarding Integrity and Future Society” was joined by mostly high school students from 10 schools located close to Seoul area. There was a total of 45 students who attended the event. All TI Korea staff members were also present to oversee and facilitate the whole activity.
For the said youth integrity discussion, TI Korea invited a speaker who could help develop, encourage or awaken the students’ ability to get involve (deeper for those who have started already) in the issues related to integrity, transparency and corruption.
The Speaker
The chosen speaker for this youth integrity discussion event was no other than the second youngest parliamentarian of South Korea – Kim Gwang-Jin. We picked him to especially give a talk for 50 minutes to the students not only because he is our 2014 Transparent Society Awards recipient but also because he is younger who can better connect and relate with the growing younger students.
He freely talked and even asked questions to the students showing openness and friendly attitude. It is not the usual teacher-student type of event which is the common practice at schools, but a sort of open relationship where students can directly ask questions or offer ideas about the topic at hand.
Parliamentarian Kim talked to them in an amicable but professional manner about issues relating to democracy, human rights, transparency, integrity, values and other matters that are very relevant to the young learners.
Youth Integrity Discussion & Presentations
Right after the talk of Parliamentarian Kim, Sung-Goo Kang (TI Korea’s Policy Committee Member) gave an introduction about Transparency International and its activities and some current events related to anti-corruption, which was followed by a group discussion among students themselves.
The students were divided into groups and instructed to choose any hot and recent issue on corruption in the Korean society. They were also instructed to pick one representative to speak and provide solutions or proposals based on their knowledge, experiences and opinions on behalf of their respective groups after an hour of discussion
Students’ Thoughts and Opinions
During the short presentations or reports by each groups’ representatives, we heard various and interesting points and suggestions for each issues they discussed. Most groups picked the hottest corruption-related accident the occurred last year – the Sewol Ferry sinking. It is understandable to think that they picked that particular issue being that they are students just like most of the 300 passengers who boarded that ferry.
Some of the students’ thoughts and opinions for policies and other measures that can prevent corruption and bribery in various sectors in the society include: proper implementation of laws regarding safety measures and training of shipping lines’ crews; develop better laws and policies that prevent corruption between maritime agencies and shipping companies, etc.
Additionally, some student representatives mentioned creating social networks among students that would encourage posting or reporting alleged bribery and corruption activities within their schools; one representative mentions establishing a reporting line or center inside their school campus where they can directly report anything they think related to corruption activity.
The youth integrity discussion event was concluded with a shared hearty lunch in an in-house restaurant of the same building.
See photos on Youth Integrity Discussion 2013
I joined the workshop, too, and was impressed with the students’ comments and knowledge about the issue of corruption. They were well informed about current corruption scandals and developed interesting ideas and methods on how to fight it. It was a very inspiring morning!