ACRC designated 3 to 14 December as “Anti-Corruption Week” to host various anti-corruption public events

On 5 December in KT Square, Seoul, ACRC to host the first ceremony to commemorate the Anti-Corruption Week and announce the result of the 2018 Public Institutions Integrity Assessment

December 3, 2018

Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission

The Republic of Korea

In commemoration of the “International Anti-Corruption Day” (9 December), a variety of anti-corruption events were held from 3 to 14 December 2018 which the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Pak Un Jong) designated as “Anti-Corruption Week.”

With more than 200 citizens and guests from the National Assembly and Private-Public Consultative Council for Transparent Society attending, the ACRC hosted the Anti-Corruption Week Commemoration Ceremony on 5 December in KT Square, Seoul at which multiple congratulatory performances themed on anti-corruption were presented.

The “International Anti-Corruption Day” was designated by the United Nations in commemoration of the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) on 9 December 2003 in Merida, Mexico

The ACRC also held a variety of fun and heart-moving cultural events based around the theme of integrity during the fortnight Anti-Corruption Week.

More specifically, a didactic puppet play for children themed on ‘honesty, responsibility and poetic justice, etc.’ was staged on 4 December at the Sejong Convention Center in Sejong city.

In addition, an ‘integrity-themed play’ that dramatizes cases of unfairness and discrimination, etc. actually experienced by young people who are in their 20s and 30s were performed until 9 December at the Theater Hyehwadang in Daehangno, Seoul. The young people directly participate in the whole process of planning, scenario writing and performance to explore the ways to address problems facing Korean society from their standpoint.

On 5 December, the ‘Anti-Corruption Week Commemoration Ceremony’ was held at the Dream Hall of KT Square, Seoul for the first time this year so that many citizens can participate in the public events held at the ceremony.

More than 200 people including guests from the National Assembly and Private-Public Consultative Council for Transparent Society, etc. as well as the members of the citizen monitoring corps for anti-corruption and integrity policy and the policy press corps, etc. were attending the ceremony, and a diversity of congratulatory performances were staged under the theme “Collective Anti-Corruption Efforts for Transparent Korea.”

At the ceremony, the ACRC declared the ‘Public Interest Whistle-blowing Day’ in order to raise awareness about the importance of public interest whistleblowers and to officially extend its gratitude to whistleblowers for disclosing irregularities in society. On top of this, attendees at the ceremony had time to think about the meaning of integrity that can be put into action in their daily lives while watching the videos in which people expressed their perspectives regarding anti-corruption and integrity.

The ACRC announced the result of the 2018 Integrity Assessment conducted in 612 public institutions and major accomplishments of the anti-corruption initiatives implemented this year, and will collect diverse opinions of people at home and abroad.

On 6 December, the International Forum on Anti-Corruption Reform was co-hosted by the ACRC and Korean Institute of Criminology (KIC) at Le Meridien, Seoul to offer participants an opportunity to share experiences of anti-corruption policy implementation in both public and private sectors. On 7 December, the ACRC convened the Integrity Conference at the Post Tower in Seoul where participants can enjoy Talk Concerts and performances created by the adolescents and discuss the ways to establish a desirable public-private cooperation model to curb corruption.

On 9 December, a special “Challenge! Golden Bell” was aired at 7:10 p.m. on KBS1 TV to mark the International Anti-Corruption Day. In this special feature, questions on current affairs and common knowledge related to anti-corruption and integrity were given out to the program participants.

On 14 December, the last day of the Anti-Corruption Week, the Chairperson of the ACRC Pak Un Jong explained to the heads of diplomatic missions abroad the major anti-corruption policies of the ACRC and the government-wide anti-corruption policy direction that has received positive responses from the international community.

The Chairperson of the ACRC Pak Un Jong said “people may find integrity burdensome and difficult, but anyone can enjoy and learn it together in a natural way through fun and touching experiences. The Anti-Corruption Week will give us the opportunity to let the world know the major success of the anti-corruption measures taken by the government and will serve as a momentum for the people to learn integrity in a more friendly manner through a variety of public events held during the Week.”