ACRC Lays the Foundation for Integrity and Ethics Management with Experts from Legal and Economic Circles

• The Integrity and Ethics Compliance Program (K-CP) policy advisory group meeting was held in order to respond to corporate ESG and international anti-corruption standards -

(Dec. 22 2022, ACRC)

On December 22, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission held a meeting with a policy advisory group consisting of experts from legal and economic circles in an effort to enhance the response to corporate ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management and international anti-corruption standards, such as Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The meeting was the second round following the first one held in June, where 25 experts from legal and economic circles who participated in developing the Integrity & Ethics Compliance Program (K-CP) joined.

* (Legal circle) Members of Sentencing Guidelines Council, lawyers at Kim & Chang and

bkl, etc. (Economic organizations) Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Federation of Korean Industries, Korea Enterprises Federation, Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, Korea International Trade Association, and Korea Venture Business Association

The ACRC focused on the fact that domestic discussion about Governance (G), a concept that includes anti-corruption, is mainly about governance, such as organizing a board of directors.

It seemed that businesses need to build a continuous and efficient compliance system in a preventive context to respond timely to ESG management and international anti-corruption standards.

The ACRC also noted that the disclosure obligation of ESG has been reinforced under the Corporate Sustainability Report Directive (CSRD) of the European Union (EU), and “anti-corruption” is included among the 4 pillars (Trade, Supply chain, Clean economy, and Fair economy) adopted by Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) launched in May.

Accordingly, the ACRC held an advisory group meeting to implement response measures for corporate ESG management and strengthening international anti-corruption standards.

At the meeting, the ACRC shared progress and future plans of support policies regarding integrity and ethics management for the public sector and private sector separately, such as organizing an economic organization consultative group.

Then the Commission listened to various opinions of experts and stakeholders and discussed response measures for businesses with focus on matters that are necessarily applied to businesses internationally, such as disclosure standards and foreign anti-corruption laws.

The ACRC plans to actively support integrity and ethics management for business by supplementing operation measures for K-CP^* based on opinions collected at the policy advisory group meeting and promoting the development of guidelines for business.

An ACRC Official said, “As the national status of Korea has elevated, it is necessary to respond actively to corporate ESG management and strengthened international anti-corruption standards. The ACRC will implement K-CP tailored to businesses by extensively collecting opinions of economic organizations and businesses and actively support the voluntary practice of integrity and ethics management.”