Corruption in South Korea

Transparency International's 2019 Corruption Perception Index ranks the country 39th place out of 180 countries.

"Korean disease" redirects here. For information about disease control in South Korea, see health care in South Korea.
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Notable cases

In 2015, Lee Wan-koo, former prime minister of South Korea, resigned after being embroiled in a corruption scandal, which has also damaged the reputation of other senior high-ranking leader, President Park Geun-hye. Lee Wan-koo had become prime minister in February 2015. But two months into his job, Sung Wan-jong, a construction tycoon, committed suicide, leaving a note accusing those who had received money from him. The former prime minister was on this list. Lee Wan-koo initially denied the accusation and showed no intention of vacating his position. However, he ultimately offered his resignation,[1] while Park Geun-hye was found guilty in 16 charges, including abuse of power and bribery, then she was prisoned for 25 years.[2] Another former president Lee Myung-bak was also charged with corruption scandals involving major companies in 2018 and he was sentenced 17 years in jail.[3]

Former South Korean president Park Geun-hye was sentenced for 25 years in prison due to corruption scandals.

As a result of such scandals, coupled with other incidents, such as the Sewol disaster, a 2015 report released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed that "[a]lmost 70 percent of South Koreans distrust their government, while less than 30 percent of them are confident in the nation's judicial system." This rate is significantly lower than the OECD average, which was 41.8 percent. Despite South Korea's low public confidence rate in 2015, it was at least a step up from the rate in 2007 by 10 percentage points.[4]

The government has taken steps to fight corruption, such as the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistle-Blowers which protect whistleblowers who report public and private corruption as well as foreign bribery. Public services have also been digitalised in order to avoid opportunities for corruption.[5] However, large chaebols pose significant difficulties as illicit business behaviour is still common among them. Some of the large conglomerates have been involved in tax evasion and corruption, and their powerful role in South Korea's economy has made corruption investigation very difficult.[6]

Notable incidents

See also

References
  1. Stephen Evans. "BBC News".
  2. "South Korean court raises ex-president Park's jail term to 25 years". Reuters. 24 August 2018.
  3. "Supreme Court upholds 17-year sentence against ex-president Lee". The Korea Herald. 29 October 2020.
  4. Claire Lee. "Korea Herald".
  5. "The Republic of Korea Corruption Profile". Business Anti-Corruption Portal. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  6. "Korea Will Probe Chaebol Executives Named in Tax-Evasion Reports". Bloomberg. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
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