2009 APEC Anti-Corruption & Transparency Symposium held on September 16 and 17 in Seoul provided APEC members and international experts with a venue for productive discussions on know-how and strategies to build anti-corruption capacity.

Hosted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) of Korea, the Symposium was attended by some 300 participants from 23 countries, including leading government officials, anti-corruption experts from international organizations, and professionals from academia and civil society groups.

In his congratulatory remarks, Prime Minister of Korea Han Seung-soo emphasized "not only does corruption aggravate social inequality by distorting resource distribution and thereby deepening the gap between the haves and have-not, corruption undermines trust and confidence among people, disintegrating our communities and dragging down happiness index."

He went on to say "every Korean, who took part in the rapid economic growth and democratization from the 1970s to the 1990s, knows very well that corruption eradication is a prerequisite for a second economic leap forward and improvements in standards of living. And Koreas are confident that they will be successful in the fight against corruption. The current Korean government has stronger anti-corruption will than any government before it and is implementing rigorous anti-corruption policies."

In his opening speech, ACRC Secretary General In-Je Park mentioned "today we are witnessing corruption that causes significant harm across borders. And the damage will only grow if we fail to respond properly."

"In APEC, we must make continuous anti-corruption efforts and at the same time share best practices and know-how to prevent and control corruption more effectively," Secretary General Park said.

In-je Park, Acting Chairman and Secretary-General of the ACRC, delivered an opening speech at the APEC Anti-Corruption and Transparency Symposium held in Seoul on 16 September.

He also said "when offering cross-border technical assistance in the fight against corruption, our focus should be on developing appropriate methodologies befitting the circumstances of the recipient economy."

The keynote speaker President Panthep Klanarongran of Thai National Anti-Corruption Corruption Commission drew an analogy between corruption and cancer, saying that corruption, if not treated, ultimately results in the demise of "the economy, social stability and the very heart of a nation."

President Klanarongran underlined the importance of prevention of corruption, especially through the inculcation of ethics and integrity. He said "this needs to be done at all levels, ranging from encouraging the adoption of Codes of Conduct in the workplace to ensuring that the youth of today become the upright, ethical citizens of tomorrow."

In his keynote speech, Chief Commissioner of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Dato" Sri Haji Ahmad Said Hamdan emphasized that international cooperation is vital in the fight against corruption, and talked about Malaysia"s efforts to build the capacity of anti-corruption officers by establishing the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Academy.

Dasho Neten Zangmo, Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption Commission of Bhutan; Young-keun Lee, Vice Chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission of Korea; and The Honourable Jerrold Cripps QC, Commissioner of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption of Australia (from left).

Commissioner Honorable Jerrold Cripps QC of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in Australia said that NSW ICAC"s basic policy direction is "naming and shaming of those involved in corruption cases." He said that in addition to Commission"s power to require public authorities and public officials to produce information demanded by the Commission, and to require a person to attend before the Commission, the New South Wales Commission can investigate by examining witnesses in public if that is authorized by the Commissioner.
Bhutanese Anti-Corruption Commission chairperson Dasho Neten Zangmo said that the basic direction of her commission is zero-tolerance toward corruption. She talked about excellent anti-corruption tools such as Standard Cost Model of the Netherlands and Integrity Assessment of Korea.

In Session 1 on anti-corruption capacity building and the role of anti-corruption organizations, participants agreed that measuring corruption level is important because it contributes to the enhancement of public service quality and that gauging corruption based on accurate data is necessary because the wrong diagnosis of corruption leads to policy failure.

While explaining how Obama Administration"s ethics agenda enhances government transparency, Don Fox, Principle Deputy of the US Office of Government Ethics, presented ways to prevent public officials" conflict of interest through asset disclosure, education and training. He also said that the anti-corruption capacity building should focus on education, training, asset disclosure of public officials, and measures to raise transparency in the procurement sector. And by doing so, he argued that many challenges associated with reducing corruption can be overcome.

Soh Kee Hean, Director of the Corruption Practices Investigation Bureau of Singapore, said that detection, investigation and punishment is an effective means of corruption prevention. According to Director Soh, the key to successful corruption control in Singapore was unexceptional investigation and punishment of those involved regardless of the size, rank and sector. He asserted that the success of an investigation into corruption rests on a proper combination of 4 competences: intelligence, interview, forensics and field operations.

The Symposium provided an opportunity to have in-depth discussions over what roles can be played by international organizations, donors, and recipient countries and what contributions can be made by each of the stakeholders.

It offered the participants a chance to share anti-corruption capacity building best practices of main players in the international community, and to gain insights needed to make anti-corruption policies.