APEC to Share Anti-Corruption Know-how in Seoul
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Experts in making a transparent society will gather in Seoul in September to attend the 2009 APEC Anti-Corruption and Transparency Symposium.
More than 150 heads of transparency-making bodies, members of non-government organizations and officials of South Korea's Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) will share their expertise and experiences from their homelands.
During the two-day meeting, these figures will discuss ways to enhance the anti-corruption capacity of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member countries.
In line with the symposium, a meeting for chiefs of anti-corruption agencies will be held to discuss ways of boosting cooperation among six member states in the Asia-Pacific region and five observer countries.
South Korea is expected to promote its efforts to eradicate corruption and at the same time uplift its image abroad, an official of the ACRC, the organizer of the symposium, said.
Systematic Approach
Under the theme of "Systematic approach to building anti-corruption capacity," the symposium will hold three sessions at the JW Marriott Hotel in southern Seoul from Sept. 16 through 17.
The first session is about how to build anti-corruption capacity and the role of anti-corruption watchdog organizations.
Jerrold Cripps QC, commissioner of the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in Australia, will brief participants on experiences in implementing anti-corruption policies, while Dasho Neten Zangmo, chairperson of Bhutan's Anti-Corruption Commission, will introduce best anti-corruption policies.
The South Asian country eager to eradicate corruption in public sector has learned the ACRC's assessment of corruption level and transparency-making model.
In the second session, ACRC Commissioner Hong Hyun-sun will talk about diagnosis of public sector integrity and evaluation of anti-corruption initiatives and professor Melissa Thomas at Johns Hopkins University in the United States will give a presentation on assessment of corruption levels and utilization of results.
The last session on Sept. 17 is for best anti-corruption policies to build transparency capacity.
Don W. Fox, general counsel at the Office of Government Ethics in the United States, will speak on the promotion of civil service ethics and Joel A. Turkewitz, program hub coordinator at the World Bank's Bangkok Regional Governance Hub, will explain prevention of corruption in business transactions.
Other ministerial- and vice ministerial-level participants include Bibit Samad Rianto, vice chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission in Indonesia; Panthep Klanarongran, president of the National Anti-Corruption Commission in Thailand; Merceditas N. Gutierrez, ombudsman of the Philippines; and Le Tien Hao, deputy inspector-general of the Government Inspectorate in Vietnam.
The two-day seminar will end with a closing speech from Yang Kun, chairman of the ACRC which hosts the symposium with a $100,000 fund from the UNDP.
For more information on the symposium, call 82-2-2040-7135 or e-mail
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Lee Yun-heung, director-general for the ACRC's Policy Planning Bureau, said the meeting will be a good opportunity to share experiences to create a transparent society and best anti-corruption practices.
On the sidelines of the symposium, the ACRC will hold the fifth Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) Forum on Sept. 15 in order to strengthen cooperation among anti-corruption bodies in the Asia-Pacific region.
Other Meetings
Under the theme of "Ways to expand mutual cooperation for anti-corruption capacity building," six member countries ― South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia ― will share information on anti-corruption practices.
Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Bhutan will join as observers.
After the two-hour discussion, all members are expected to adopt the "Seoul Statement," promising further cooperation.
In a related move, the third joint meeting of the ACRC and the Corruption Eradication Commission of Indonesia will take place on Sept. 18. The two sides will review achievements after the implementation of the Korea-Indonesia Anti-Corruption Cooperation MOU and map out future projects.
The two countries signed the memorandum of understanding in March 2006 at the request of Indonesia, which wanted to expand bilateral cooperation regarding the introduction of Korea's anti-corruption policies.
They agreed to exchange transparency-making policies, experience and human resources, and support joint studies and other academic gatherings.
In accordance with the accord, the ACRC's Integrity Assessment, Assessment of Anti-Corruption initiatives and Corruption Impact Assessment were transferred to Indonesian government agencies and state-run organizations.
Korean Experiences
Additionally, the commission is scheduled to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Thailand's National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) on Sept. 15 to offer its own policies to make a corruption-free society.
The MOU will help the two countries share anti-corruption policies and experience, and operate short-term courses, according to the ACRC.
Following the accord, several rounds of workshops, symposiums and seminars will take place for the next three years.
The ACRC was launched in February last year as the Lee Myung-bak administration sought to eliminate corruption.
It has been devoted to shrugging off the negative image of a corrupt country, following in the footsteps of predecessor the Korea Independent Commission against Corruption (KICAC).
As part of efforts to end corruption in officialdom, the commission devised a system to gauge transparency called integrity assessment.
Based on results, the organization advises government offices, including the Incheon City administration and the Korea Railroad Corporation, what to improve or avoid.
Code of Conduct for Public Servants
The anti-corruption body also reinforces a code of conduct for public servants.
It clarified ambiguous criteria and presented it as a means to punish public officers who receive bribes and abused power.
"To help the transparent atmosphere root in, we have been offering lectures to government officials and students," said director-general Lee.
The commission has also made full use of the whistle-blowing system, which encourages witnesses to report corruption.
Rewards of more than 400 million won were made ($260,000) last year.
The ACRC has led anti-corruption waves in the Asia-Pacific region by giving some countries, including Bhutan, tips on blocking "black temptations."
The organization has received about $9.5 million in funding from the UNDP.
It set out model policies such as the establishment of anti-corruption bodies and enhanced transparency in the financing of election campaigns and political parties.
The nation ranked 40th in the transparency index released by Transparency International (TI) last year thanks to the ACRC's endeavor ― but the organization wants more.
"We want the country to be within the 20th rank by 2012," Lee said.
Asked about a role model, the director-general said the commission does not target one country.
"We are referring to good anti-corruption systems from every country. We believe that South Korea developed good systems and has only one problem left: how to practice them," he said.