The government said Friday it plans to redouble efforts to uproot corruption and other irregularities from three major areas — the public sector, people’s lives and the economy.
The move comes about a week after Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo declared an “all-out war” on corruption following a recent series of graft cases involving government officials as well as businessmen.
“All law enforcement bodies will join the anti-corruption drive to root out corruption as well as other irregularities that pose threats to national and economic development as well as the livelihood of South Koreans,” the prime minister’s office said after a meeting of related senior officials.
The antigraft campaign will target corporate slush funds, corruption in military procurement deals and state-financed foreign resource development projects, the office said in a statement.
The government will also fight tax evasion, illegal loan-sharking, online hacking, leaks of personal data and price fixing, according to the statement.
“Eradication of corruption and irregularities is crucial to lay firm ground for sustained economic development as well as national development,” Choo Kyung-ho, the policy coordinating minister at the prime minister’s office, said in the meeting.
“The anti-corruption drive should be led in a way that does not intimidate general corporate activities,” Choo said.
Earlier this week, President Park Geun-hye also called for stern measures to root out endemic corruption across society, supporting the pan-governmental drive.
In a high-profile case, South Korean Navy chief Hwang Ki-chul was replaced last month for alleged bribery involving the country’s first indigenous salvage ship project. The state audit agency accused Hwang and a number of military officers of taking bribes in exchange for overlooking faulty parts supplied for the project. (Yonhap)
