[2023 Report on the Work Plan]

“Protecting Rights and Interests of the People and Promoting Korea with Integrity”

Substantively protecting the rights and interests of the people, improving systems experienced by the people, and ranking in the top 20 of the Corruption Perception Index

(3 February 2023, ACRC)

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Jeon Hyun-Heui) reported in writing on February 2 about the 2023 major work plan for ensuring “Korea with integrity, where the rights and interests of the people are protected.” Five major projects in 2023 by the ACRC are as follow:

① Resolve difficulties in the livelihood of ordinary people and small business owners through outreach civil complaints consultation.

Proactively resolve people’s grievances on the spot by providing “Onsite Outreach Service (100 times)” for underrepresented areas and vulnerable social groups. Actively resolve grievances of small-sized companies and small business owners suffering from managerial difficulties through onsite consultation by holding “Onsite meeting for business grievances (once a month).”

② Swiftly resolve collective complaints (100 people or more) before growing into social conflicts.

Focus policy capacity on the resolution of long-standing collective complaints due to social conflicts by newly establishing a “Collective Complaints Mediation and Resolution TF” and enhancing onsite mediation among relevant agencies.

③ Essentially resolve frequent complaints through planned investigation.

In case of frequent complaints or issues that require a complete nationwide overhaul, identify recurring problems through “Planned Investigation of Grievance Complaints” and seek fundamental solutions, such as improving deficient legal and institutional factors.

① Policy-making with speed focusing on public proposals based on the living empathy

Proactively support the “policy-making based on public proposals,” including by reviewing public proposals submitted to the “Public proposal channel of the Presidential office” to seek tasks in the review of policy-making, analyzing them in connection with and integrating with big data of civil complaints, and promoting public deliberation through public debates.

Raise first-hand awareness of the people through strict management of implementation regarding tasks in policy-making. Moreover, reorganize “Public Proposal System” into Integrated Public Communication Portal to allow easier and more convenient communication for the people.

② Enhance the issuance of civil complaints warning and the effectiveness of policies through scientific analysis of civil complaints.

Systematically analyze 13 million civil complaints and proposals accumulated on e-People a year (as of 2022) through the civil complaints analysis system to enhance the effectiveness of policies and proactively utilize them to improve the lives of the people.

While identifying and managing risks and improving unreasonable systems by analyzing civil complaints regarding major current state affairs (3 major reforms) through “Planned Analysis,” detect factors compromising the safety of the people in the early stage and issue disaster and safety warnings based on big data of civil complaints.

① Eradicate the illicit use of public funds, such as subsidies

Strengthen the management of unlawful receipt of subsidies provided to private or social groups to eradicate practices with regard to the illicit use of national finance.

While receiving reportings at ordinary times through the “Center for reporting unlawful receipt of welfare subsidy”, plan to run an intensive reporting period (scheduled from May to July) and take strong measures against the unlawful receipt.

Enable data input unlawful receipt on the system at any time (currently, twice a year) through Clean Portal and expand public disclosure of information of unlawful receipt and recovery by each agency and project.

In addition, plan to carry out a joint inspection in cooperation with relevant agencies concerning vulnerable areas with frequent unlawful receipts and reflect the status of unlawful receipt by each agency in budget planning for the next year in order to encourage efforts of each agency to actively eradicate the unlawful receipt. 

② Enhance the integrity capacity of the public sector and overhaul corruption-causing factors of laws and regulations. 

Conduct more airtight assessment by expanding institutions (from 569 (2022) to 670 (2023)) subject to the “Comprehensive Integrity Assessment” that evaluates the level of integrity and anti-corruption efforts of every level of institution.

Expand integrity training programs focused on experience and participation, such as integrity education based on discussion, and implement measures to facilitate institution-led integrity education in order to increase the completion rate of integrity training, the mandatory education pursuant to the law.

Moreover, identify and mitigate corruption-causing factors of laws, such as availability of preferential treatment and conflict of interest with regard to the enactment and amendment of laws, concerning ordinary people and state affairs tasks, to prevent corruption risks in advance and carry out a complete evaluation of local statutes, such as by-laws of local governments (100,000 laws), in stages by 2024.

③ Enhance protection and support for corruption and public interests whistleblowers.

Standardize regulations regarding whistleblower protection and support, separately stipulated five anti-corruption laws, including Public Interest Whistleblower Prevention Act, to prevent confusion among the people. In addition, standardize the provision rate of reward (4-30%) for whitleblowers at 30% and adjust or eliminate the upper limit of rewards (currently 3 billion won).

Moreover, swiftly handle protection cases by improving procedures of handling cases, such as regularizing a preliminary review meeting on whistleblower protection cases, and plan to enhance the effectiveness of protection measures by clarifying violation of protection regulations in standards of disciplinary measures in public institutions.

① Root out hiring irregularities in public institutions.

Enable reporting and reception of reporting of hiring irregularities at any time through the “Integrated center for reporting hiring irregularities (established in Jan. 2023),” dedicated to fair employment, and carry out a complete investigation of employment status within public institutions.

Moreover, collectively overhaul employment regulations (1,300) in public service-related organizations and promote comprehensive and systematic measures to eradicate hiring irregularities in the public sector by setting standards for fair employment of non-public officials, such as lifetime contract public workers, which have been a blind spot.

② Promote the fairness of system and the operation process of national qualification examinations.

Improve the system recognizing public duty-related careers as special cases regarding professional examinations (15 types), including tax accountants and patent agents, which has been an entry barrier for the youth.

Implement disadvantageous measures concerning examination against public officials who faced disciplinary actions and extend the valid period of official test scores, such as language tests, to lessen the burden of preparation for professional examinations in high demand among the youth.

① Realize a one-stop service of administrative appeals.

Promote the integration of the Central Administrative Appeals Commission of ACRC and agencies selected by priority according to the needs of integration among 66 specialized Administrative Appeals Agencies operated under separate laws and draw up the amendment of the Administrative Appeals Act by December 2023 and submit it to the National Assembly.

In addition, promote the integration of the “online administrative appeals system” where receiving, procession, and checking result of the administrative appeals take place in one place at once.

② Expand opportunities for relief of rights by promoting the accessibility to administrative appeals.

Improve the system to enable the people to appoint public defendants even before filing administrative appeals and use helps provided by legal professionals in preparing request forms. Moreover, expand the institutions providing “Autofill request form service (EASY Administrative Appeals),” where people can easily file administrative appeals without the help of professionals.

The ACRC, as an agency overseeing the relief of rights and interests and prevention of corruption, will make the utmost efforts to build Korea with integrity that ensures the protection of the rights and interests of the people and plans to have every capacity and proactively support to fulfill the national vision of the government, “the Republic of Korea that is taking another leap forward and a nation of people prospering together.”