Public Service Ethics and Anticorruption Efforts in South Korea

This chapter reviews bureaucratic corruption and administrative ethics in South Korea. It discusses changes and causes of corruption in South Korea over time, compares it with other Asian countries, and examines competing theories for the cause of corruption. The chapter presents a review on anticorruption initiatives under different Korean administrations from Park Chung-hee to Roh Moo-hyun. It provides an overview of major anticorruption policies and legislation and shows that perception of corruption is slowly improving in South Korea. Public service has long been revered as a prestigious occupation in Korea. Authoritarian administrations in Korea often attempted to use anticorruption programs as means to appease public outrage over corruption in public service. Globalization of the Korean economy put international pressure on the government to become more transparent and meet international standards in terms of anticorruption initiatives. The administration strengthened the institutional aspect of anticorruption policy.