By Kang Hyun-kyung
A large-scale investigation into civil servants will begin in July after several bribery cases involving government employees were reported to the Prime Minister’s Office last week.
The probe comes amid the government tightening its code of conduct for civil servants ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for next year.
Cheong Wa Dae, in collaboration with the Bureau of Audit and Inspection (BAI), will hold a meeting on June 30 with audit officials at government agencies.
Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik also vowed to fight corruption in the public sector over the weekend at a meeting with Cabinet ministers and vice ministers presided over by President Lee Myung-bak.
“A battle against corruption in the public sector is a must for the country as it marches toward becoming an advanced nation,” Kim said. “The government will use the recent bribery cases as an opportunity to uproot bad practices in officialdom.”
His remarks came a day after President Lee blamed high-ranking officials for the prevalent “corruptive practices” in government.
Lee said, “The entire nation appears to be plagued with corruption.”
The remarks followed corruption cases involving government officials at the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.
Several workers at the ministry were treated to “entertainment” by firms carrying out state projects that were under the former’s supervision.
The ministry officials organized two-day seminars which were sponsored by these businesses.
In a related development, the BAI announced Sunday that it found a government employee of Gyeonggi Province involved in bribery. It urged the governor to dismiss the official.
At a press briefing, the BAI said that the provincial government official, who oversaw a construction project to expand a road in the region, had received cash from a manager of the construction company for the project. The BAI declined to give further details.
The government official demanded that the manager pay his tab after drinking at a bar. He also made the construction firm manager pay for golf clothing that the official purchased at a store.