By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter

The chief of the nation's anti-corruption agency pledged Thursday efforts to eliminate drug "rebate" irregularities.

Both the giver and recipient of bribes in the pharmaceutical and medical industry will be prosecuted when they are found to be involved in the practice of giving such rebates, said Lee Jae-oh, chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC).

Lee was presenting a set of measures to fight bribery and corruption in the industry during a meeting with foreign CEOs.

He pledged to create a more foreign business-friendly climate here by taking bold action to uproot bad practices.

"I admit that bribes and corruption were to some degree neglected during the industrialization period. Now, the malpractices are holding back the economy," Lee said.

The government has made all-out efforts to root out the negative elements to attract foreign investment, he noted.

About 80 foreign businesspeople, including William C. Oberlin, president of Boeing Korea; Jean-Marie Hurtiger, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea; and Frank Little, CEO of 3M Korea, participated in the meeting held at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul.

The foreign business leaders proposed that the government shore up institutions to encourage overseas companies to consider Korea as an attractive investment place.

They also called on policymakers to work hard against the practice of rebates in the pharmaceutical industry.

Josef Meilinger, CEO of Siemens Korea, pointed out that there was a huge gap between the corruption reported and documented rate, saying that from 2,600 corruption cases reported only 5 percent were prosecuted.

ACRC Chairman Lee responded that anti-corruption agency officials first look at whether the reported cases were legitimate before sending them to the prosecution.

He hinted that this was probably the reason why there was a gap between the two.

In response to a question on the whistleblower system by Amy Jackson, chairwoman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Korea, Lee said protection for such people has been set in place.

Lee said that eliminating corruption is the only task holding Korea back from being an attractive place for investment.

He said the anti-corruption body plans to assess the transparency level of all ministries and government agencies, as well as ranking public servants.

hkang@koreatimes.co.kr



의약계 리베이트 근절한다

국민권익위원회 이재오 위원장은 11일 의약계 리베이트 관행 근절을 위해 최선을 다할 것이라고 밝혔다.

이 위원장은 이날 오전 세종문화회관 세종홀에서 주한 외국인 CEO(최고경영자)들을 대상으로 한 정책설명회에서 ``우리나라에 와 있는 외국 기업들을 위하고 우리나라에 와서 기업하시는 외국인 CEO를 위해 우리나라 내부에 남아있는 각종 부패와 비리를 청산하는데 적극 나서겠다"고 다짐했다.

그는 의약품 리베이트 근절 노력과 관련, 리베이트 수수자 처벌 법규 개정을 통한 쌍벌제 도입 등의 내용을 담은 `의약품 거래 및 약가제도 투명화 방안'을 소개하고, 향후 의약품 리베이트 근절에 적극 앞장서겠다고 밝혔다.

이날 행사에는 에이미 잭슨 주한상공회의소 대표, 장 마리 위르띠제 르노삼성자동차 대표, 윌리엄 오벌린 보잉사 사장, 요세프 마일링거 지멘스 코리아 사장, 리처드 힐 SC제일은행장, 프랭크 리틀 3M 코리아 사장 등 80여명이 참석했다.