|
The Institute for Ethics and Economic Policy (IEEP) Fordham is a renowned Jesuit institution with over 165-year history of emphasis on ethics.
|
|
||
|
S.Korea Eyes
Covenant To Eradicate Corruption, Political Funds. Representatives of the
South Korean government, political parties, business sector and
nongovernmental organizations will get together to discuss signing a Social
Covenant against Corruption, government and NGO. During the meeting, the
representatives will launch a committee to prepare for the signing of the
covenant, an official of the state-run. Participants will discuss the
contents, wording and schedule for the covenant. (Yahoo! Australia
and NZ News (Asia Pulse),
South Korea upholds IOC VP's conviction. The suspended IOC vice president Kim
Un-yong’s two-year prison term for embezzlement and bribery charges was
upheld by
Gov’t Approves Public Anti-corruption Agency
Scheme. The Korean government, it have approved a measure that will allow the establishment of a
agency dedicated to investigating corruption by public officials and their
families. The cabinet said that the agency will not be empowered to indict
people, but will be licensed to investigate any possible wrong doings of both
appointed and elected officials. The plan was drawn up by the Korea
Independent Commission Against Corruption. (Yonhap News, judge upholds prison term for IOC Ex-Vice President. A judge has upheld a prison term for former IOC Vice President Kim Un-yong on embezzlement and bribery charges, but reduced the sentence to two years from 2 1/2 years because of Kim's old age and his contributions to Korean sport. Kim had appealed the sentence by the Seoul District Criminal Court in June, but a Seoul High Court judge rejected it. In June, a three-judge panel convicted Kim of embezzling 3.3 billion won from the World Taekwondo Federation, the World Taekwondo Headquarters, which issues taekwondo credentials and other sports organizations he controlled. (Wall Street Journal, 16 September 2004 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson). Prosecution arrests lawyers, brokers in corruption cases. It was reported that the supreme public prosecution has arrested 84 of 139 lawyers and brokers found to be involved in corruption cases related to lawsuits. Since April, the prosecution has been investigating money-for-lawsuit cases, in which lawyers and their subordinate officials trade cases for money or solicit clients to pay exorbitant fees for peddling their influence. The investigators said that most of the accused lawyers had hired brokers as their secretaries-general, whose major role is to bring in lawsuits or to incite potential clients to launch lawsuits. (Korea Herald, August 2, 2004, summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
Former South Korean PM
charged with corruption.
According to prosecutors, former South Korean Prime Minister Kim Jong
Pil, who helped shape four decades of South Korean politics, was indicted
yesterday on charges of taking illegal political fund. The indictment came after prosecutors
arrested one of his associates, Rhee In Je, on charges of accepting 250
million won from the main opposition Grand National Party in 2002 in return
for his support for then-GNP presidential candidate Lee Hoi Chang. Kim, who
was prime minister twice, was accused of accepting 1.5 billion won from South
Korea's largest conglomerate, the Samsung Group, in 2002. (The Straits Times 21 May 2004 summary Sherldine Tomlinson). corruption probes. South Korean prosecutors have questioned two
politicians over their alleged involvement in separate corruption cases. The two are Na Oh-yeon, a lawmaker for the
opposition Grand National Party, and Kim Min-seok, a former legislator of the
minor opposition Millennium Democratic Party. Na is suspected of illegally
collecting political funds in 2002 from Hyundai Motor, the country’s biggest
automaker, as part of his party’s election campaign during the presidential
polls. Kim may face charges for allegedly receiving illegal funds from SK
Group. (Washington Times, May 3, 2004, summary by
Sherldine Tomlinson).
Impeachment hearings to go ahead as planned. According to the Constitutional Court, the court procedures on the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun will be unaffected by the general election results and go on as scheduled. The court’s move comes after calls to withdrawal the impeachment bill has been growing stronger following the pro-government Uri Part’s resounding victory in the general elections. The Uri Party is also proposing to settle the matter with a political compromise, but Grand National Party leader Park Geun-hye again dismissed the offer, saying that Roh’s fate depends on the pending decision of the Constitutional Court. (Korea Times 16 Apr 2004 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson). corruption probe
widens with Korean Air link to opposition. Probes into South Korean
corruption scandals has widened, with prosecutors issuing new indictments of
two opposition officials accused of receiving illicit money from the
country's biggest airline ahead of the 2002 presidential election.
Prosecutors believe Kim Young-iel, former secretary general of the main
opposition Grand National Party, and Suh Jung-woo, a former lawyer for the
party's 2002 presidential candidate, took 1 billion won (US$855,000) each
from Korean Air before the national poll.
(Associated Press 05 Mar 2004 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
Park Geun-hye, Kim One-ki under investigation over illegal funds. According to reports, Rep. Park Geun-hye, a daughter of the late
President Park Chung-hee, is under probe on the allegation she received money
from the opposition Grand National Party in return for re-entering the party
shortly prior to the 2002 presidential election. Prosecutors recently secured
testimony from a former top GNP official that the party gave her about 200
million won after she rejoined in November of that year. (The Korea Herald, February 25, 2004 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson). 'Arms dealers gave bribes to generals'. It was reported that police have obtained crucial evidence that an arms subcontractor offered bribes to two or three former and current generals to gain favorable treatment in lucrative defense projects. The evidence was found while investigators were tracing bank accounts of arms supplier for giving kickbacks to Lee Won-hyong, the former chief of the Defense Quality Assurance Agency. Police have alleged that Chung Ho-young who is the president of a military telecommunications technology firm diverted millions of dollars in defense funding while his firm provided technology for an army project to upgrade anti-aircraft firearms. (Korea Times Dec 16 2003 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
FORMER KIM AIDE JAILED FOR PAYOFF TO NORTH. Park Jie-won, the most influential aide to former president Kim Dae-jung, was sentenced to 12 years in jail for transferring money to North Korea just before the 2000 summit and for accepting a $12.5m bribe from Hyundai Corp. The summit won Mr. Kim the Nobel peace prize. Mr. Park helped to arrange state bank loans to Hyundai group which was found to have remitted $500m total to the North before the summit. Six others were implicated in the summit scandal earlier in the year. (BBC 14 Dec 03, summary by Stefanie Weiland).
Roh to sign counsel bill into law. It was reported that President Roh Moo-hyun will sign the bill to investigate allegations of corruption involving his former aides into law. According to reports, the president cannot reject the bill again because the National Assembly overrode his earlier veto of the proposal in a revote. Under the Constitution, a two-thirds majority in parliament can overturn a presidential veto and even amend the Constitution. The presidential declaration of the bill into law will be followed by the National Assembly’s preparation for the appointment of an independent counsel to look into a series of corruption allegations involving Roh’s aids. (Korea Herald, December 5, 2003, summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
Prosecutors tracing SK’s W10 bil: paid to Choi. Prosecutors investigating the SK slush fund scandal are focusing their probe on the final destination of the 10 billion won a lawmaker of the opposition Grand National Party admitted collecting from the conglomerate before last December’s presidential election. They have traced bank accounts related to the legislator, Rep. Choi Don-woong, and will soon summon him for a fourth time to check details of the illegal funds from SK Group, prosecution sources said yesterday. The prosecution is also considering calling in other GNP officials and private campaigners for then GNP presidential candidate Lee Hoi-Chang. (The Korea Herald, October 22, 2003 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
FORMER TOP AIDE TO SOUTH KOREAN LEADER ARRESTED IN CORRUPTION PROBE. A former top aide to South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun was arrested and charged with bribery as part of a corruption probe that has triggered a political crisis. Prosecutors charged former presidential secretary Choi Do-Sul with bribery and violating political fund-raising laws for allegedly receiving 1.1 billion won (940,000 US dollars) from a top business firm following Roh’s victory in December presidential elections. Roh also said that he no longer felt able to govern without a new vote of confidence from the people. Roh’s approval ratings have crashed from nearly 80 percent to less than 30 percent since he was elected in December last year. (Yahoo News (AFP), October 16, 2003 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
COURT GETS TOUGHER ON CORRUPTION. The Supreme Court said that it has toughened its standards in handing down sentences to those convicted of corruption charges. Under the new guidelines that were issued to judges, public officials who receive more than 5 million won in kickbacks in return for favours will be handed down a custodial sentence. Those who accept more than 30 million won for purposes other than misusing their influence will also face imprisonment. Heavier sentences will also be given to employees of securities firms and others who misuse their status in manipulating stock prices, as well as those guilty of multiple offences and those who deny the charges. (The Korea Times 17 Oct 2003 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
Hanwha, Daewoo accused of stashing secret funds.According to prosecution, it has secured evidence showing that Hanwha Engineering and Construction Corp. and Daewoo Construction collected slush funds through its subcontractors when it undertook the project for construction of Kangwon Casino. Daewoo Construction is also suspected of having raised secret funds through Daeduk. Daewoo made a contract with Hanwha for construction of part of the main casino. Hanwha then made another subcontract with Daeduk. (The Korea Times Sep 19 2003 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
A NEW SCANDAL IS BREWING A score of politicians and Seoul officials received bribes in return for peddling their influence to grant permission for the Konkuk University foundation to go ahead with the “StarCity” project, reported Munhwa Ilbo a local daily newspaper. According to the paper, officials of the school foundation are suspected of forming a clandestine 18 bn. won fund and offering bribes to have the school’s spacious baseball ground area legally reclassified as quasi-residential and commercial to pursue the lucrative construction venture while by law land served an educational purpose does not qualify for commercial project. (Korea Herald 03 Sep 2003, summarized by Hanh Vu).
Land developer probed for allegedly lobbying politicians. Prosecutors are investigating an
allegation that a real estate developer charged with embezzlement gave money
to Rep. Chyung Dai-chul, chairman of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party,
and some other lawmakers last year. According to the sources, prosecutors
have confirmed that the president of Good Morning City, identified as Yoon,
delivered 200 million won to Chyung last December and are probing whether the
money was given in bribes. Chyung, admitted to meeting Yoon and asking him to
donate political funds. Prosecutors also suspect Yoon offered tens of
millions of won to a few other lawmakers from both the MDP and the opposition
Grand National Party. Yoon went into hiding after the prosecution sought to
arrest him for embezzling money he collected from applicants for stores at a
shopping mall to be built by his company. He is suspected of using the
embezzled money to take over a large construction firm and lobby the
political circle to favour his business. (The Korea Herald, June 23, 2003 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson). CHIEFS GET PRISON SENTENCES IN FRAUD CASE After prosecutors found the profits of SK Global, the group's trading arm, had been inflated by $1.2bn. earlier in March this year, 10 high ranking officials of SK Group, the country's third largest conglomerate, faced jail or suspended sentences for illegal stock trading and fraud. Among those saw Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Corp. South Korea's biggest oil refiner, received a 3 year imprisonment and Son Kil-seung, chairmain of the parent group, had his 3-year term suspended. The scandal revived concern about standards of corporate governance in South Korea, nearly 6 years after the country's financial sector was thrown into cirsis by the heavy debt and faulty accounting of groups such as Daewoo and Hanbo Steel. South Korea's fair trade commission this week launched an investigation into suspected malpractice by 6 groups, including Samsung, the biggest. (Financial Times, 14 Jun 2003, summary by Hanh Vu).
Tax agency auditor arrested on charge of taking bribe. The prosecution has arrested an
auditor at the Seoul office of the National Tax Service for taking bribes
from a company being scrutinized for tax evasion. Hong Sung-keun, the
arrested auditor, is accused of receiving 50 million won from a company in
return for acting leniently on its tax evasion last year, prosecution
officials said. Prosecutors have investigated a dozen other tax officials and
searched through the NTS office in Seoul in what could lead to a crackdown on
wrongdoing by tax officials. Prosecution investigators have rarely been so
meticulous as to comb through a tax service office. Hong has denied the
bribery charges against him. (Korea
Herald, June 6, 2003, summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
Roh vows law changes to root out corruption. The 11th International Anti-Corruption Conference was launched at the COEX center in Seoul. President Roh Moo-hyun, in a keynote address, said that all unnecessary regulations that encourage corruption will be abolished. Roh Moo-hyun said that “The new administration will focus on establishing qualitative developments in this society”. “That is a change from the quantitative development that Korea has been pursuing for the last 50 years that caused dark connection between politics and the economy.” (JoongAng Daily, May 28, 2003 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
Kogas chief IN BRIBERY arrest. The head of Korea Gas Corporation, the world’s largest buyer of liquefied natural gas, has been arrested on suspicion of bribery. Kim Myung-kyu, chief executive of state-controlled Kogas, the country’s monopoly gas supplier, is being questioned about allegations that he accepted bribes from a gas transport company in return for awarding a contract. Prosecutors said that Kim was being kept in custody while undergoing questioning. He has not been officially charged with any offence as yet. (Financial Times, May 22, 2003, summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
Former spy chief may face arrest. The independent counsel probing a clandestine transfer of money to North Korea is considering seeking an arrest warrant for Lim Dong-won, former director of the National Intelligence Service, for breach of trust, sources familiar with the investigation. The independent counsel sought an arrest warrant for Lee Keun-young, former chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission, for breach of trust. Lee served as governor of the Korea Development Bank when the state-run organization extended 400 billion won in loans to Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. in June 2000, violating the company’s credit limits. More than half of the loans were changed into U.S. currency and sent to the North before the meeting between then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang took place. (Korea Herald, May 23, 2003 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson). PROSECUTORS FACE PROBE OVER CORRUPTION Some 20 incumbent prosecutors will face charge court if the Supreme Public Prosecutor's office finds they involved received money from a lobbyist named Park who was arrested for receiving 30million won from the family of a criminal suspect in return for a promise to lobby for his release. The investigation was launched last month after police found names and phone numbers of prosecutors on a mobile phone carried by the lobbyist, the office said. Prosecution investigators said it is studying conversation records between Park and the prosecutors after receiving them from a telephone company. (The Korea Times, 14 May 2003, summary by Hanh Vu).
Roh apologizes for
bribery scandal.Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has apologised to the public for a
bribery scandal involving two of his key aides. Roh aides are accused of taking bribes in 1999 from a
businessman who propositioned them in a bid to save his troubled merchant
bank. The president had kept silence on the case since the prosecution
launched an investigation into the scandal last month. (The Korea Herald May 02 2003
summary by Sherldine Tomlinson). EMBEZZLEMENT UNCOVERED IN DEFENSE MINISTRY. Senior military officials including four general-level officers are under investigation for a major embezzlement scandal involving the disappearance millions that was won from a state coffers. Seven other senior military officials, including one major general and two brigadier generals, are also under investigation in connection to the scandal. An internal audit conducted by the ministry in February found that Seo falsified the number of people who attended parties and had meals at the club in 128 cases, usurping an average 2 million won from each host. (Korea Times Apr 10 2003 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
HEAD OF SOUTH KOREA BUSINESS GROUP
ARRESTED. South Korean prosecutors have arrested Chey Tae-won, chairman of
the country's third largest business group SK, over charges of illegally
exchanging socks in subsidiaries to expand his control of one group. If
convicted, Chey, who the prosecutors are charging with violation of a special
economic crime law created in the 1980s, could face life imprisonment. The
case contends that Chey, who is detained in a jailhouse outside Seoul,
swapped his stock in the Sheraton-Walker Hill hotel with shares of another SK
company, a holding firm of the group's affiliates, allegedly earning him some
60 million dollars in illegal profits. The action further solidified Chey's
control of the 60-subsidiary-strong conglomerate. (Associated Press, Feb 23,
2003, Summary by Eliza Villarino.). Gov’t Announces Anti-visa Corruption Measures. The Foreign
Affairs and Trade Ministry announced a set of measures to tackle visa-related
irregularities at overseas diplomatic missions. The measures came after a
corruption scandal was exposed last month in which two former diplomats were
arrested for illegally issuing visas in exchange for money when they worked
at consulates in China. In an effort to thwart attempts to get visas with
forged documents, the government plans to give consular officials more access
to computer networks of other government agencies so that they can check
related data. (Korea Times, December
9, 2002, summary by Sherldine Tomlinson). PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE VOWS TO END CORRUPTION. According to Roh Moo-hyun, the presidential candidate for the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), abuse of power and corruption will not be tolerated under his rule. In his plans, he will adopt policies that will eliminate privileges and discrimination in society, while creating a fair and clean country. The MDP is determined to clean its image after President Kim Dae-jung’s credibility was tarnished when corruption scandals, involving his members and sons, became public. (The Korea Times, November 18, 2002, summary by Vincent Fung).
JAIL FOR KIM DAE-JUNG'S SON. One
of the sons of South Korean President Kim Dae-jung received a three-and-a
half- prison sentence for corruption via influence peddling and tax evasion.
The court also ordered Kim Hong-up to pay fines of 500 million won ($408,000) and hand over bribe money
amounting to 560 million won ($457,000). Kim Hong-gul, another son of the
president is waiting for his sentence in a separate bribery and corruption
trial. (CNN, November 1, 2002, Summary by Eliza Villarino). Korean President´s
youngest son receives suspended sentence. Another son of South Korean
President Kim Dae-jung was sentenced in jail for two years with three-year
suspension and a 200 million won (155,600 US dollars) fine for charges of
bribery and tax evasion. This sentence of Kim Hong-gul, the youngest son of
the president, came just after his second elder brother Kim Hong-up´s
sentence of three and a half years of imprisonment on Nov. 11 for bribery,
which also made by Seoul District Court.
(Xinhua News, November 11, 2002, summary by Sherldine Tomlinson). stock riggers arrested Three bankers have been arrested in South Korea on charges of rigging the stock market and defrauding investors. The banker stand accused of setting up thousands of "shell companies", corporations that exist solely for the purpose of financial manipulation. The bankers are accused of creating more than 5,000 fake companies and, in total, injected capital temporarily into another 5,000. The bankers have denied all allegations. (BBC News, October 31, 2002 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
Soul, GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL ARRESTED ON BRIBERY CHARGES A corruption scandal allegedly involving a son of President Kim Dae-jun has widened with the arrest of a high-ranking government official on bribery charges. Lee Hong-seok, assistant minister of culture and tourism, was arrested on suspicion that he received receiving 17 million won (dlrs 13,000) from a sports lottery operator. Kim Hong-gul, the youngest of the president's three sons, was arrested in May on charges of receiving millions of dollars from Choi Kyu-sun, a lobbyist under arrest on bribery charges. Choi allegedly bribed Kim Hong-gul to also help Tiger Pools win the lottery license. The arrest comes in the latest in a series of financial scandals that have implicated government officials and some of President Kim's sons, and comes ahead of local elections in June and presidential polls in December. President Kim has not been directly implicated in any scandal. (Associated Press May 27, 2002 summary by Sherldine Tomlinson).
PRESIDENT QUITS RULING PARTY UNDER PRESSURE South Korea President Kim Dae-jung has quit his ruling party and apologized for a recent series of corruption scandals involving his sons and some confidants. Kim said his decision to leave the Millennium Democratic Party was to free himself from domestic politics and concentrate on state affairs, including the upcoming soccer World Cup, presidential election and other key elections. Kim had resigned as head of the ruling party in November under public fire for a series of corruption scandals involving high-ranking government officials. It was reported that Kwon Ro-gap, a confidant of the president, was arrested on charges of accepting $38,000 from a businessman accused of making a fortune through stock manipulation. Two of Kim’s three sons, Kim Hong-up and Kim Hong-gul, face summons by prosecutors for allegedly peddling influence in return for bribes. (Yahoo News (Associated Press), May 5, 2002 summary by sherldine Tomlinson).
PRESIDENT KIM TO REPLACE THE CABINET; VOWS TO FIGHT CORRUPTION President Kim Dae-jung, whose administration has been under fire over a series of corruption scandals amongst his high ranking officials, is to name new ministers to his cabinet, replacing the prime minister, the economic team, and the unification and foreign ministers. Serving the last year of his five-year term, with presidential elections due in December this year, President Kim has vowed to work towards boosting the economy and stepping up the fight against corruption. Earlier this month he had publicly apologised for the scandals involving his ministers and is expected to name the new ministers before next week. (CNN News, January 28, 2002, summary by Aruna Balakrishnan).
KIM NAMES PROFESSOR HEAD OF ANTI-CORRUPTION PANEL. The President of South Korea Kim De-jung designated Prof. Kang Chul-kyu of the University of Seoul as chairman of the soon-to-be-established presidential anti-corruption panel. Kang graduated from Seoul National University and worked at the Bank of Korea and various economic think tanks. He was also a senior member of the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, a leading civic group. "Kang has integrity, and is reform-minded, upright and well-rounded. He is expected to lead the commission smoothly," said presidential spokesman Oh Hong-keun. Kim Sung-nam, the former chairman-designate of the commission, resigned earlier this month in connection with his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal. (The Korea Herald, January 22, 2002, summary by Pavlidis George).
TYCOON TESTIFIES TO HAVING PAID BRIBE. . A South Korean Tycoon, Choi Soon-young, former Chairman of Korea Life Insurance and Shindongah Group has testified that he authorised $10 million in 1996, to be paid to Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev to promote Shindongah’s business ventures in the former Soviet republic. He said that this was done on the recommendation of his subordinate at the Kazakh branch, Kim Jong-eun. Choi has also alleged that while he had instructed Kim to pay the money to Nazarbayev he wasn’t sure if it was actually done. This testimony occurred while the court was reviewing Choi’s 1999 conviction on falsifying papers to obtain illegal bank loans and diverting it to secret bank accounts in the US. Choi was sentenced in 1999 to 5 years’ imprisonment and fined $165 million and Kim, who was also convicted in that case was given a three-year suspended sentence. Whilst Kim has denied having any connections with the Kazakh bribery, Choi has said that the money related to the flight of capital from South Korea into the US had been transferred wrongly, which has subsequently been returned to the state.. . (Associated Press (South Korea), November 5, 2001, summary by Aruna Balakrishnan).
Seoul, MAYOR OF SEOUL USING INTERNET TO RID THE CITY OF ITS NOTORIOUS CORRUPTION PROBLEM. Goh Kun is the mayor of Seoul. He intends to use the Internet to fight corruption in the city. His so-called Open System has changed the way government contracts are awarded in Seoul. An entirely online system allows bidders, and citizens, to see how contracts are awarded and to whom. "People or companies bidding for contracts do not need to visit City Hall at all because the whole process is conducted on the Internet. They can click on a website and see exactly how their bid is being handled. This increases transparency and reduces the opportunity for bribery," says Mr Goh. "The city administration had a bad reputation for corruption but the Open System has helped change the public's perception." As a result, the incidence of corruption in city contracts has dropped from 36 per cent before 1999, to 6 per cent this year. The success of the project has attracted the attention of the UN, which is working with Seoul to export the Open System to other countries. (Source: Financial Times, October 24, 2001, summary by Pavlidis George).
PROBE INTO MEDIA COULD FORCE MAJOR REFORMS Radical restructuring of powerful and reclusive media firms may be the result of recent tax audits and criminal investigations. Prosecutors have placed the chief executives of the Chosun Ilbo, Dong-a Ilbo, and Kukmin Ilbo under greater legal and tax scrutiny due to alleged evasion of huge taxes, illegal donations, inheritance of stocks, real estate transactions. Foreign exchange flight, misappropriation of corporate funds, bank accounts under false or borrowed names, and other financial irregularities. Smaller firms will also face financial difficulties. Questions have been raised whether media firms should be entitled to serve as watchdogs on corruption or other social ills. No compromise on the tax issue should be sought by the government if it wishes to maintain public confidence. (Korea Herald, July 10, 2001, summary by Marg Reynolds)
KIM DECLARES WAR
AGAINST CORRPUTION. President Kim Daejung states they are fighting the last
vestiges of corruption step by step. The anti-corruption package shows a
shift to an emphasis on prevention rather than punishment. The government
plans to set up regional watchdog offices against corruption. Korea
ranked 42nd out of 90 countries in the world in terms of freedom
from corruption this year, an improvement of six places from last year.
(Korea Times, July 5, 2001, summary by Barbara Gray).
SEOUL MAYOR WINS INTERNATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION AWARD. Transparency International has awarded the “2001 Global Integrity Medal” to Seoul mayor, Goh Kun, for his work in routing corruption from his city’s administration. Amongst the positive steps taken is an Internet online system allowing citizens to monitor administrative procedures and decision-making processes together with written pledges with bidders for public project contracts that bribes will not be offered or accepted. Last year, the award winner was Lee Kuan Yew, former Singapore Prime Minister. (The Korea Herald, Feb. 27, 2001, summary by Marg Reynolds). A letter recommending him was written by Prof. H. D. Vinod. The Mayor was also honored at New York University on May 9, 2001 where he explained the latest developments in using Information Technology (IT) to fight corruption throughout Korea beyond the city, how the system will be integrated with the actual working of the city in October 2001, how the cost of the whole system was only about $300,000. Integrity Pact (IP) is an agreement between companies submitting bids signing the oath to not engage in illegal price-fixing or offer bribes, gifts and entertainment and to accept punishment if they violate the IP. To enforce the IP there is an IP Ombundsmen as citizen representatives to monitor if bribes or entertainment are offered. An anticorruption index (ACI) to assess areas most susceptible to corruption. The idea is to encourage the competition for integrity among various departments. The corruption report card is sent to the citizen every month by the mayor’s officemany report irregularities and recommendations and as a result two officials were dismissed, one suspended, one reprimanded, and several were admonished or underwent corrective training course. There are rewards to citizen for making reports.
SOUTH KOREA/BELGIUM: PwC UNCOVERS MASSIVE FRAUD IN SOFTWARE FIRM UNIT. An accounting fraud has been uncovered by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in the South Korean unit of Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products NV, a Belgian software concern. To receive cash upfront for as-yet unpaid receivables, L&H Korea colluded with several banks, thus making the cash infusion in reality, a bank loan. The company had employees pose as clients when auditors, KPMG, requested confirmation of the receivables. L&H Korea said it would write off the majority of Korean sales, which amounted to $127 million. Legal action will be taken against Joo Chul Seo, head of L&H Korea; other Korean executives; and the banks involved in the scheme. (Electronic Accountant, Apr 9, 2001, summary by Marg Reynolds).
PUNISH
CORRUPT EXECUTIVES – AN EDITORIAL.The Korea Development Institute plans to
continue the restructuring of the corporate and financial sectors and
believes that owners and executives of insolvent firms should be punished for
mismanagement ranging from the diversion of company funds to the hiding out
of their assets. In cases or rampant
moral hazards, the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. said 176 executives of
bankrupt companies had hidden assets totaling more than 61.5 billion
won. Examples include Rha Seung-yui
of Saehan Merchant Bank for 700 million won; Kim Sung-pil of Sungwon Business
Group for 430 billion won; Kim Bui-chul, Chairman of New Core Group, of 5
billion won; Park Kum-bae, Chairman of Haitai, for 1.9 billion won plus 100
million won for accepting business favors, Lee Jae-kwan, Vice Chairman of
Saehan Group, for 50 billion won; and Kim Woo-choong, Chairman of Daewoo
Group, for 21 trillion won. Taxpayer
money is used by the government to support immoral business mismanagement
until they are held accountable and brought to justice. (The Korea Herald, Dec. 29, 2000,
summary by Marg Reynolds).
BUSINESS GROUP TO MEASURE AND COMBAT CORRUPTION AT LARGE CORPORATIONS. A group of business leaders have begun measuring the magnitude of corruption at large corporations. The group was formed in 1933, it has 192 participants and is led by former Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) Chairman Hahn Seung-hun. It plans to develop a model to gauge corporate corruption by announcing a ranking of corrupt corporations. The project will be promoted jointly with the Seoul Institute for Transparency at the University of Seoul. The group will build a corruption index for the development of which it has already conducted a poll of 109 experts. According to the group, the survey participants said the most important indicators of corporate corruption were tax evasion, giving or taking bribes, provision of illegal political funds, manipulation of account books and inside stock trading. The group said it welcomes the participation of established business organizations, such as the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Korean Industries. The companies to be surveyed will likely be the top 50 or 100 listed firms in terms of sales. A commentator said the index, when publicly disclosed, will have wide repercussions. (Source: The Korea Herald, September 26, 2000, summary by Pavlidis George).
SENIOR OFFICIAL ARRESTED ON CORRUPTION CHARGES. A senior official of South Korea's financial industry watchdog was arrested for bribery charges. Kim Young-jae, 53, was charged with accepting bribes worth 49.5 million won from a small financing firm in return for various favors. Kim was the first official to be arrested in the corruption scandal involving the Financial Supervisory Service, an agency President Kim Dae-jung created to implement financial reforms. (Ananova, 11 November 2000, summary by Debbie Uy).
SEOUL- South Korea’s culture minister Park Jie-Won, who organized the historic inter-Korean summit, has stepped down from his post following allegations that he pressured a bank to hand out loans to an associate’s company. He says he resigns to avoid embarassment to the government and denies any illegal actions were performed. (South Nexus, September 21,2000. Summary by Fabian Camacho).
SEOUL, CULTURE MINISTER RESIGNS UNDER PUBLIC PRESSURE South Korean President Kim Dae-jung government has been shaken periodically by corruption scandals since he took office in 1998. Early September Song Ja, Government’s Education Minister resigned after being accused of making millions of dollars in profits through unethical means. Another person to resign was Park Jie-won Culture and Tourism Minister, after news reports that he may have forced a local bank to illegally lend big loans to a businessman. Mr. Park denied such allegations and said he will subject himself to an investigation by prosecutors. (Dow Jones Newswires, September 19, 2000, summary by Maritza Rosado).
Seoul City / Anti-Corruption Programs http://www.metro.seoul.kr/eng/corrupt_fr.html The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on January 4, 2000 Anti-Corruption Index of its agencies and offices in five areas considered most susceptible to corruption, such as food-and-entertainment, taxation, housing and building, construction works and fire prevention. Gallup Korea conducted the survey. SEOUL (AP)-- S Korean Court Impounds Ex-President Chun's Properties--- Prosecutors trying to collect fines imposed on former President Chun Doo-hwan for corruption. It was the first government move to collect $158 million the ex-president has yet to pay in fines. Chun, who stepped down in early 1988 at the end of a single five-year term, was arrested in 1995 on bribery charges. He was later fined $184 million, the amount he was found guilty of receiving as bribes while in office. so far have collected $26 million. They have till May 2003 to collect the rest. Chun acknowledged in court that he had received $184million in bribes from 26 businessmen during his1983-1988 term. He denied concealing the funds.( DOWW, May 22, 2000).
SOUTH KOREA : ILLEGAL CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS - EDITORIAL http://support.casals.com/aaaflash1/busca.asp?ID_AAAControl=2992 Korea Herald, August 22, 2000 http://koreaherald.co.kr/news/2000/08/__03/20000822_0316.htm
SOUTH KOREA: GOVERNMENT TO PURSUE TRANSPARENCY IN REFORMS http://support.casals.com/aaaflash1/busca.asp?ID_AAAControl=2976 YAHOO NEWS, August 23, 2000 http://www.yahoo.com SOUTH KOREA: SEOUL CITY BEGINS ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN http://support.casals.com/aaaflash1/busca.asp?ID_AAAControl=2955 Korea Times, August 20, 2000 http://www.korealink.co.kr/kt_nation/200008/t200008201819574111232.htm
The OECD anti-Corruption report for South Korea can be
found at http://www.oecd.org/daf/nocorruption/report.htm
The Index of Economic Freedom (by Driscoll-Holmes-Kirkpatrick) for 2001 places South Korea in the “Mostly Free” category with a rank of 30 (Ranks range from 1 for Hong Kong to 155 for North Korea, Wall Street Journal, Nov. 1, 2000). H. D. Vinod’s trimmed correlation analysis indicates that countries free from economic regulation are less corrupt. After allowing for some exceptions by 20% trimming, the correlation is near 0.9.
MOVIES Korean movies dealing with corruption: “Two Cops,” “Live
Right,” and “Millions In My
Account.” Further information
about Korean movies from the site of The Korean Film Archive at http://www.cinematheque.or.kr |
|
||
|
Design: Theo den Brinker |
Copyright:
Hrishikesh D. Vinod 2000 |
Last
Updated:
|
|
