ACRC, “Even a First-Time DUI Offense Can Get Public Institution Officials Fired from Their Job”

ACRC conducted CRA on 5,815 bylaws of 75 public institutions and offered recommendations for 557 corruption-causing factors therein

(Oct. 18, 2022, ACRC)

Disciplinary measures have been toughened for public institution officials caught drunk driving with a blood alcohol level above 0.2 percent to allow for their removal, even if they are first-time offenders.

Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) conducted the Corruption Risk Assessment on bylaws of 75 public institutions in agricultural, maritime, industrial, economic, land, and safety areas, and sent 538 CRA recommendations to each institution.

The CRA conducted this time found that criteria to take disciplinary measures upon DUI offenders in 68 public institutions were neither specific nor strict. Officials who were charged with DUI for the first time or refused to take a sobriety test were merely suspended from their duties, and second DUI offenders/those who drove under the influence with suspended or revoked driver’s license were simply suspended or released from their posts.

ACRC considered that these measures not only go against the trend of imposing severer punishment for drunk driving, but also fall short of the public expectations. Hence, ACRC recommended that public institutions should strengthen their disciplinary measure imposition criteria to be up to the level applicable to public officials for DUI offenders to be relieved or dismissed from their duties in accordance with their blood alcohol concentration (BAC).

< Criteria for the Imposition of Disciplinary Measure (Example) >

In addition, ACRC also established a tool to prevent unjust influence-peddling in the course of selecting private fund management companies for the FAFF fund of funds* for which competition is intense.

Currently, participation of “public institution officials of Grade II (head manager/general manager level) or higher who worked in divisions related to the aforementioned investment businesses within a year prior to his/her retirement” is prohibited from engaging in duties related thereto. ACRC further expanded the scope of official subject to the prohibition to include “officials of Grade III (director level) or higher who have served in fund management services (¡¡insurance & finance service).”

*FAFF is a fund of funds in which the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs invests jointly with private fund management companies for the purpose of investing in FAFF (Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishery) businesses. Private fund management companies select best-performing FAFF business operators.

ACRC also offered CRS recommendations for improvements in minor or major corruption-causing factors in public institutions such as: prohibition of concluding an optional contract with retired officers, juridical persons by which retired officers are hired as executive officers and entities of retirees; establishment of basis for transparent and corruption-free contract including prohibition of receiving money or entertainment upon bidding/contracting; exclusion of officers holding a managerial or higher position from the scope of those subject to mitigation of disciplinary action thanks to commendation from the head of the institution; and inclusion of acts of hiring irregularities and abuse of authority into the scope of acts excluded from mitigation of disciplinary action.

ACRC Anti-Corruption Bureau Director General Han Sam-Seok said, “we have completed the Corruption Risk Assessment on bylaws of 506 public institutions which we had started since 2020. I hope these efforts to remove corruption-causing factors in bylaws of public institutions will lead to reduction in repetitive/customary corrupt acts or irrational regulations inconveniencing the general public.”