Korea’s “Integrity Assessment” system to be introduced to Thailand

ACRC hosts Integrity Survey Workshop for Thai officials

March 29, 2010

Korea’s “Integrity Assessment” system is expected to be introduced to Thailand by 2012. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) hosts a workshop for public officials from Thailand for five days from March 29 on Integrity Assessment, Korea’s unique policy tool to measure corruption in the public sector.

The workshop is attended by 13 officials from the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and the Ministry of Justice of Thailand, who will take intensive training on the assessment system. As part of the workshop program, the Thai public officials will also visit the Korea Customs Office and the Korea Express Corporation, which registered high scores in the 2009 Integrity Survey, to learn how these organizations have maintained such a high level of integrity.

“We hope that Korea’s Integrity Assessment will be successfully transferred to Thailand and contribute to improving transparency and integrity in the nation,” In-je Park, Secretary General and Vice Chairman of the ACRC, said in his welcoming speech.

The workshop was organized as a follow-up to the memorandum of understanding signed by the ACRC and NACC in September 2009. Last January, the ACRC agreed to transfer the Integrity Assessment system to Thailand within this year at the request of the Thai government.

The measurement system was already introduced to Indonesia and Bhutan in 2007 and 2008 respectively. This inspired the Thai anti-corruption body to propose to conclude an MOU with its Korean counterpart.

Dr. Utis Kaothien, an honorary advisor of the NACC, said that the Integrity Assessment is an effective measurement tool in terms of objectivity, reliability and validity.

“Its effectiveness and usefulness has already been proved by its successful introduction to Indonesia, “ Dr. Kaothien said.

He added that one of the virtues of this system is that it serves as a social sanction by disclosing the ranks of public organizations subject to the survey, which induces them to voluntarily step up anti-corruption efforts.

The NACC is showing a keen interest in adopting the assessment system, as evidenced by the employment of new staff and establishment of a working group dedicated to adopting this system. After learning the assessment system from Korea, the Thai government plans to conduct a pilot survey for four domestic organizations within this year and implement the system nationwide by 2012.

The ACRC plans to provide full support to Thailand so that Korea’s anti-corruption measures help prevent and deter corruption in Thailand. The Commission expects that such activities will also serve to promote the excellence of Korea’s anti-corruption instruments and technical assistance programs, thereby improving the international image of Korea.

The NACC is Thailand’s independent, constitutional body that is charged with investigating public sector corruption and malfeasance and inspecting assets of public officials.