Rooting Out Corruption

By Kim Dok-man

International Anti-Corruption Day, which was set by the U.N. to root out corruption, was observed on Dec. 9. Recognizing the importance of anti-corruption efforts, 95 U.N. member countries, including South Korea, held a ceremony six years ago in Merida, Mexico, to mark the signing of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), an international instrument to punish corrupt behavior.

The UNCAC stipulates the criminalization of a wide range of corrupt acts, including bribery, embezzlement and money laundering, and regards assistance in corrupt activities and obstruction of investigations as crimes.

It also includes provisions under which governments can redeem state assets plundered by corrupt political leaders.

Each country is required to sign and ratify the convention in order to put it into effect.

As of December, some 140 countries, including the U.S., the U.K., France, China and Russia, had ratified the UNCAC. After signing the convention in 2003, Korea finished the procedure for ratification in 2008.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), which formulates and coordinates national anti-corruption policies, staged various campaigns against corruption around Dec. 9 as part of efforts to faithfully implement the convention.

This year's anti-corruption activities ran from Dec. 7 to 12. The ACRC organized anti-corruption seminars and events to present the best practices of ``integrity policy,'' and to announce their ``integrity rankings'' of public institutions.

So, how does the global society see the integrity of South Korea? Korea ranked 39th among 180 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), announced by Transparency International (TI), a Berlin-based international anti-corruption body.

Although there are many different views regarding the methodology of calculating the CPI, Korea placed 22nd among 30 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), with its index falling below the OECD average of 7.04. It also dropped in global competitiveness, ranking 15th in GDP.

While Korea has joined the ranks of the advanced countries of the OECD, the dark side of rapid development, namely corruption, has grown almost everywhere in the society.

Now that 13 years have passed since it joined the OECD, Korea has approached the ranks of advanced economies to some extent, but is still far from being advanced in its level of integrity.

Deeply influenced by Confucianism, there is a national sentiment which makes Koreans feel ashamed of committing bad acts. Therefore, transparency and integrity should be valuable assets to Korea.

Korea, which lacks natural resources, should increase its ``soft power," which seeks agreement from other countries through the power of culture, values and ideology, according to international political scientist Joseph S. Nye, Jr., who serves as a professor at Harvard University.

Korea's potential for soft power lies in building a fair and corruption-free country that provides a level playing field for all members of society.

The writer is a public relations officer of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.