Korea launched Private-Public Consultative Council for Transparent Society

To establish, examine, and evaluate anti-corruption policies, to conclude agreements for transparent society in different sectors of society, and to carry out transparency practice movement

March 6, 2018

Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission

The Republic of Korea

The "Private-Public Consultative Council for Transparent Society" participated by leaders of different fields of society including the financial sector, professional sector, media, academia, and civil society has been launched. The council establishes, examines, and evaluates anti-corruption and transparency policies for the purpose of realizing transparent society.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) announced that the first "Private-Public Consultative Council for Transparent Society" meeting attended by 30 leaders of different sectors of Korean society was held on the 6 at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, at the conference room on the 11th floor of Korea Trade Insurance Corporation.

At the meeting, the co-chairman for the private-sector part of the "Private-Public Consultative Council for Transparent Society" was elected. Then, the newly-elected chairman presided over the deliberation of the "basic plan for creation of transparent society" and the "rules for the operation of the Private-Public Consultative Council for Transparent Society."

The council also discussed the "Comprehensive Five-Year Anti-Corruption Plan" for the implementation of the new administration's anti-corruption reform. The council will report the ideas suggested at the meeting and voices of the people at the "2nd Anti-Corruption Policy Council Meeting."

First, the "Basic Plan for Creation of Transparent Society" will include ▴ the system for anti-corruption policy implementation based on private-public cooperation and ▴ measures for implementation of agreements for transparent society and nationwide movement for practice of transparency.

· System for anti-corruption policy implementation based on private-public cooperation

The "Private-Public Consultative Council for Transparent Society" will take lead in collecting and discussing opinions about anti-corruption policies from people and different sectors of society, in order to select the anti-corruption policy tasks to change our society.

Important anti-corruption agenda will be brought to the anti-corruption policy council presided over by the president and the council will participate in the process of monitoring and evaluating the status of the agenda's implementation, in order to make people directly feel the change.

· Signing of agreements for transparent society, etc. The "transparent society Pact" in which each professional group and sector of society promises to carry out detailed plans and duties to practice transparency is signed and then the status of implementation will be monitored and evaluated.

In addition, nationwide movement for practice of transparency such as the project to build the hall of fame for whistle-blowers will be carried out together.

Furthermore, the council will support voluntary establishment of local "private-public Consultative councils for transparent society", in order to evolve into a nationwide grass-root transparency movement.

· Support for voluntary anti-corruption activities of businesses, etc.

Other than that, measures will be established for collaboration to help anti-corruption business management culture take root in companies and public-related organizations that are deeply related with the private sector, in order to make the culture of fair and transparent ethical business management firmly take root in society.

Plus, the current circumstances regarding corruption in the private sector will be surveyed in cooperation with economic organizations this year and based on the result, anti-corruption measures and plans to systematically support ethical business management will be established.

ACRC's Chairperson Pak Un Jong said, "Any anti-corruption policy led only by the government cannot continue for a long time and it has a likelihood of failure for not being trusted by the people, if it is not supported by the people including the economic sector and civil society."

Chairperson Pak went on to say, "For anti-corruption policies to show actual effectiveness, all the people's interest in them and continuous and active participation by different sectors of society are necessary. We expect that such all-round anti-corruption efforts will work as the catalyst to improve Korea's Corruption Perception Index (CPI)."