This is the 11th in a series of articles on suggestions to President-elect Lee Myung-bak. ― ED.
By Kim Geo-sung
Chairperson of Transparency International Korea
Dear, President-elect;
A great improvement in the control of corruption and enhancement of transparency in every sector of society should be preceded with to become an advanced society.
This is also shown in an agreement: ``We agree that transparency is an important factor in national competitiveness in the era of globalization. We also agree that continual efforts to raise standards of transparency are badly needed if corruption is not to hinder us from becoming an advanced society,'' which was signed by leaders of the four sectors (public, politics, economy, and civic society), involving President-elect Lee Myung-bak, at the initial signing ceremony of the Korean Pact on Anti-Corruption and Transparency (K-PACT) in 2005.
According to the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) of Transparency International, South Korea improved from scoring 3.8 out of 10 in 1999, right after the IMF crisis, to 5.1 last year. However, 5.1 is also shameful if one considers that it is the 43rd out of 180 territories and the 25th out of the 30 economies in the OECD.
Similarly, the Governance Indicators of World Bank does not show any great improvement in the Control of Corruption Indicator of South Korea by scoring 59.2 in 1998 and 64.6 in 2006.
It can be compared with a great improvement in the Government Effectiveness Indicator, which improved from 66.8 to 82.9 over the same period.
These measures show that more important and urgent issues are the control of corruption and accountability of the government than highlighting government effectiveness.
Recent reports from the President-elect's transition team bring some worries, because it seemed to consider abolishing the Korea Independent Commission Against Corruption and other government committees that were suggested as mandatory factors to prevent corruption in the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
Also, it is doubted whether the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, which was established and operated as a tool to promote transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness under the principle of checks and balances as well as the separation of power, can survive or not. The important thing is not the change itself but the direction of that change.
This is not the last of the story. Under the slogan of ``pro-enterprise,'' policies controlling corruption and unfair trade and promoting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) seem to be in the process of vanishing.
In this situation, there is the concern that the country is becoming one where corruption is easy due to the failure of control rather than a country where enterprises can succeed easily.
Actually, the root of anti-enterprise sentiment in South Korea can be found in the corruption and cozy relations between politics and businesses in the past.
Thus, the most important way to create a pro-enterprise atmosphere is better corporate governance. The promotion of CSR will be the second most important factor. Without a true improvement in corporate governance, any support by policies or abolition of regulations cannot strengthen the competitiveness of Korean enterprises and cure the so-called ``Korea discount'' phenomena.
It is very hard to get rid of corruption only by law enforcement. Also, social integrity and country competitiveness cannot be achieved without improving transparency and overcoming corruption.
People are expecting the President-elect will initiate a strong, sustainable and effective national anti-corruption program. The belief that a powerless citizen and a chaebol businessman are treated equally under the law should be planted.
Furthermore, the new government should consider including access to public information to basic rights in the new Constitution.
It is essential to have effective and continuous education on the value of integrity, which will lead to an improvement of ethics and the promotion of compliance in each sector of society. Indeed, these efforts will lead the country into becoming a truly advanced society.
Of course, reports related to the transition team shown fragmentarily through the press can be different from the truth, and surprising anti-corruption policies might be in the offing to counter these worries.
Then, I hope emphasis once more will be placed on the facts that transparency and integrity are essential elements for advancement.
I wish the new government under powerful anti-corruption initiatives of President-elect Lee will achieve improvement in the CPI by concentrating on efforts for transparency and integrity with each sector of society, as promised in the K-PACT.