Global Anti-Corruption Movement

By Chang Tae-pyong

Dec. 9 is the International Anti-Corruption Day designated by the United Nations. In recognition of the importance of prevention of corruption, 90 member states of the U.N., including South Korea, signed the U.N. Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) in Merida, Mexico, on the day four years ago. It contains policies to deal with corrupt cases involving many countries under international law. The International Anti-Corruption Day was set to commemorate the day.

In a nutshell, UNCAC is a pact to drive out corruption from the international society. The convention requires each country to prescribe a wide range of acts of corruption as offences; adopt laws criminalizing bribery, embezzlement of public funds and money-laundering; deal with acts in support of corruption; and obstructing investigation as offences.

It also contains a provision that the next government should confiscate national property plundered by political leaders. For implementation of such provisions, it calls on each country to sign and ratify the convention. As of December this year, national assemblies of 104 countries, including the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia, ratified the UNCAC.

Global-level system to fight corruption

However, South Korea, birth nation of U.N. secretary-general, has not yet finished the ratification procedures, despite that four years have passed since it signed the convention.

In Korea, a bill of a special law concerning confiscation and recovery of illicit assets, which calls for cooperation against corruption-related crimes between countries and confiscation of illicit assets, was submitted to the National Assembly in October this year for due approval.

The bill requires a court to confiscate and recover the illicit assets that domestic corrupt officials have hid overseas. It also calls for the minister of justice to request relevant foreign governments to return the confiscated properties under international cooperation.

Likewise, the Korean government will render the same cooperation and assistance when a foreign government makes such a request. Until recently, it was difficult for the government to cooperate with relevant foreign countries in the collecting of illicit properties, owing to the absence of relevant agreements and domestic laws.

If this bill is passed at the National Assembly for implementation, the prevention and punishment of corrupt crimes as well as the confiscation and return of illicit assets will be possible.

Corruption acts being left in the process of industrialization

In fact, the corruption issue emerged a long time ago as a core task to be solved at not only the U.N. but also such international bodies as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In many cases in some newly emerging markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America, they cannot spend economic assistance they received from international organizations for economic development projects owing to serious corruption.

Korea, known as on the threshold of advanced country status, faced the Asian financial crisis 10 years ago and its aftermath still exists. In reality, news on circulation investment-type window-dressing, illegal and unfair transactions, creation of slush funds for lobbying politicians and government officials, are making headlines.

Recently, such influential international media as the Financial Times and the New York Times pointed out that Korea has made efforts to crack down on corruption in business and politics, but a culture of corruption is so deeply embedded in Korean society that many have come to consider small cash gifts, usually contained in white envelopes, an essential tool for success.

The Financial Times even used the terrible expression, ``Specter of corruption returns to haunt Korea.''

Ratification of UNCAC is urgent

Nevertheless, Korea joined ranks of advanced OECD countries, leading an era of industrialization and informatization. However, corruption still remains in Korean society like a deep-rooted weed.

Now, 11 years have passed since the country joined the OECD. The country may have entered the ranks of economically advanced countries, but it has failed to become an advanced country in terms of integrity. If it fails to solve the corruption problem, it will lose national competitiveness and be dropped out of the ranks of advanced countries.

A powerful weed-killer is necessary to wipe out the corruption. The weed-killer is UNCAC, signed under international standards, and the spraying of the weed-killer is the convention's implementation.

The National Assembly should enact the special law concerning confiscation and recovery of illicit assets and ratify UNCAC at the earliest date possible.

The writer is secretary-general of the Korea Independent Commission Against Corruption (KICAC) ― ED.