10 Years of Mandatory Anti-Corruption Education —
Education is Essential for Transparent Public Institutions!

- The ACRC announced the results of the 2025 inspection on anti-corruption education in public institutions… 96.7% of all public officials and 97.8% of high-ranking officials completed anti-corruption education

- The ACRC Confirmed that anti-corruption education has successfully taken root in the public sector over the past 10 years of mandatory education… Special training will be conducted for institutions with poor completion rates

(June 29, 2026, ACRC)

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Jung Il Yeon) announced today (the 29th) the ‘Results of the 2025 Inspection on the Completion Status of Anti-Corruption Education in Public Institutions.’

As anti-corruption education was designated as a legally mandatory course in 2016, public officials belonging to public institutions must complete at least 2 hours of education every year, and high-ranking officials, new recruits, and promoted personnel must complete at least 1 hour of face-to-face education annually.

The ACRC inspected whether 2,242 public institutions completed their anti-corruption education last year, and the results showed that the completion rate for all public officials was 96.7%, with 1.77 million out of a total of 1.83 million officials completing the training, confirming that anti-corruption education has firmly established itself in the public sector.

The completion rate for public officials in 2025 was 96.7%, up 0.7 percentage points compared to 2024. This represents an 11.4 percentage points increase compared to the 85.3% completion rate first recorded in 2016 when the education became mandatory. The completion rate for high-ranking officials was 97.8%, up 0.7 percentage points from the previous year, while the rate for new recruits and promoted personnel was 92.6%, a slight decrease of 0.2 percentage points from a year earlier.

By type of public institution, Offices of Education recorded the highest completion rate at 99.1% of all public officials, whereas national and public universities showed the lowest rate at 83.0%. For national and public universities, which have relatively poor completion rates, the ACRC plans to boost participation through continuous special management, such as inspecting quarterly educational performance.

In addition, out of 2,242 public institutions, 958 institutions (42.7%) achieved a 100% education completion rate, while 130 institutions were identified as underperforming institutions*. Underperforming institutions will be required to submit an education implementation plan in July, and special training for department heads will be conducted.

* Criteria for Underperforming Institutions: Institutions that fall under at least one of the following thresholds: less than 75% for all public officials, less than 80% for high-ranking officials, or less than 80% for new recruits/promoted personnel.

* The number of underperforming institutions has steadily decreased over the past three years: 268 in 2023 → 153 in 2024 → 130 in 2025

In particular, 64 institutions — accounting for 49.2% of the 130 underperforming institutions — were found to be small-scale institutions with 50 or fewer employees or newly designated public service-related organizations.

The average completion rates for these institutions were relatively low, standing at 64.5% for all public officials, 58.9% for high-ranking officials, and 44.8% for new recruits and promoted personnel. Accordingly, the ACRC has distributed “Special Educational Materials on Anti-Corruption Laws” and plans to actively promote “On-Site Anti-Corruption Education” for these organizations.

※ On-Site Anti-Corruption Education: A program where the ACRC directly visits institutions to provide a 2-hour lecture on major anti-corruption laws and regulations.

ACRC Chairperson Jung Il Yeon stated, “Ten years after anti-corruption education was made mandatory for public officials, we have confirmed that it has steadily taken root, with the completion rate of all public officials reaching 96.7%.”

He added, “Building on these achievements, the ACRC will enhance the effectiveness of anti-corruption education while continuously managing and supporting institutions with poor completion rates to further elevate the level of integrity across the entire public sector.”