'Korea-UK partnership leads anti-corruption'

Lee Sung-bo, chairman of the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), sixth from left, poses with other dignitaries during the Korea-U.K. Anti-Corruption Seminar hosted by the ACRC at Ferrum Tower in downtown Seoul, Tuesday. They include British Ambassador to Korea Scott Wightman, fifth from left; Roderick Macauley, seventh from left, international and corporate crime advisor to the U.K.’s Ministry of Justice; and Martin Crago, third from right, regional manager for Asia of the U.K.’s National Crime Agency. / Courtesy of ACRC

By Yi Whan-woo

The international community should use joint efforts made by Korea and the United Kingdom as a role model in its fight against corruption, according to London’s top envoy to Seoul, Tuesday.

“The global scourge of corruption cannot be tackled in isolation,” British Ambassador to Korea Scott Wightman said in his congratulatory remarks at the Korea-U.K. Anti-Corruption Seminar in Seoul. “Only through partnerships such as the Korea-U.K. Anti-Corruption Partnership Initiative (K-UKI) can progress be made. A shared understanding, common goals and a united resolve too are vital.”

Wightman was among some 200 participants who attended the one-day seminar hosted by the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) at Ferrum Tower in the Korean capital.

They included Lee Sung-bo, ACRC chairman; Roderick Macauley, international and corporate crime advisor to the U.K.’s Ministry of Justice; and Martin Crago, regional manager for Asia of the U.K’s National Crime Agency.

The ACRC organized the seminar as part of its programs to share and compare anti-corruption policies of Seoul and London under the K-UKI that was launched in April. It will run through March next year.

The meeting was supported by the British Embassy in Seoul and the U.N. Global Compact (UNGC) Network Korea. The UNGC is the world’s largest voluntary organization of its kind to help private companies to coordinate their market efforts with long-standing U.N. goals for sustainable development. It is comprised of some 8,000 companies and 4,000 civic organizations in 145 countries.

The Tuesday seminar was also held to commemorate International Anti-Corruption Day which falls every Dec. 9. It was designated by the U.N.

Participating organizations included research institutions, law firms, business lobby groups, state-run companies, private enterprises and multinational firms, mainly from Korea and the U.K. They included Korea University, Kim & Chang, Clifford Chance, the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Federation of Korean Industries, Korea Water Resources Corporation, Hyundai Heavy Industries, SK Planet, Rolls-Royce and Siemens.

“In many ways, today’s seminar symbolizes how far our partnership in the Korea-U.K. Anti-Corruption Partnership Initiative has developed in the relatively short period of time since it was launched,” Wightman said.

“The UK believes the tide is beginning to turn and there is a growing intolerance of it as more countries realize the social, economic and political impact of corruption.

“We are proud of progress to date but this is just the start. We look forward to continuing this close partnership and implementing more activities through 2015 as the Initiative develops.”

The ACRC chairman voiced a similar view.

“Today’s seminar will provide a precious opportunity for us to take a closer look at the UK’s anti-corruption policies and achievements so that we can take valuable lessons for an effective reform,” Lee said.

Bribery Act 2010

In accordance with the K-UKI, the meeting focused on three themes — prevention of bribery, recovery of the proceeds of corruption and fraud, and the protection of whistleblowers, while exchanging ideas on how to effectively implement those policies.

British embassies around the world have been stepping up efforts to promote the Bribery Act 2010 in accordance with the legal environment of the countries they are in.

Referred to as “the world’s toughest anti-corruption legislation,” the law took effect in the U.K. in 2010.

It repealed all previous statutory and common law provisions in relation to bribery. It instead replaced them with the crimes of bribery, being bribed, the bribery of foreign public officials, and the failure of a commercial organization to prevent bribery on its behalf.

The penalties for committing a crime under the act are a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment, along with an unlimited fine.

To run the K-UKI, the ACRC said Korea received support from the Prosperity Fund. This is the U.K government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Fund to tackle climate change, strengthen energy security and promote an open global economy in key emerging economies.

The annual fund aims at global and U.K. growth with four main ideas — openness, sustainability, opportunity and reputation. Among them, openness focuses on transparency and a strong, rules- based international economic system.

Lee said the ACRC has been referring the Bribery Act 2010 for enactment of the two anti-corruption laws here — the Act on the Prevention of Illegal Solicitation and Conflict of Interest and the Act on the Prevention of False Claims of Public Funds.

“As chairman of Korea’s national anti-corruption body, I am convinced that these laws would lay the firm ground for establishing government and social systems to address our corruption-prone practices and culture,” he said.

Under the K-UKI, the ACRC will visit the U.K. in March 2015. It plans to hold another seminar and explain the Bribery Act 2010 and its effort for enactment of the two anti-corruption laws for Korean and British enterprises that plan to expand their businesses in both countries.

In October, the ACRC held a similar forum on business ethics for the state-run, private and multinational firms in Korea. In March, it introduced a Korean-language version of the Bribery Act 2010.