Korea ranks 40th in global transparency index, lags in corporate reform: report

SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's enhanced transparency in the public
sector helped move it up to the 40th spot out of 180 countries in a global
anti-corruption index, but concerns loom over backsliding corporate reform in
the new government, a report found Tuesday.
Transparency International, a non-governmental anti-corruption organization that
releases the annual index, expressed concern over the possible fallout from
CEO-turned President Lee Myung-bak's pro-business policies, as seen in a sweeping
special amnesty granted to scores of convicted tycoons in August.
"Transparency International has criticized the presidential amnesty granted to
chiefs of conglomerates who have been convicted of corruption and embezzlement,"
Kim Geo-sung, chair of the organization's Korea branch, told reporters.
The clemency, given to such prominent figures as Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung
Mong-koo, SK Energy Chairman Chey Tae-won and Hanwha Group Chairman Kim
Seung-youn, may hamper corporate reform, he said.
In the public sector, the report noted the general enhancement of integrity. It
cited the 2005 creation of a defense procurement watchdog and a nationwide
convention reached in 2006 between the government, businesses and civic groups to
fight corruption, moving the country three notches up to the 40th positon. Korea
received a score of 5.6 out of 10, compared to 5 the previous year.
Korea made "statistically significant improvements over the last year," along
with several other countries, including Albania, Qatar, Georgia and Turkey, the
report said.
At the top of the index were Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden, with the highest
scores at 9.3. Somalia ranked at the bottom with 1.0, followed by Iraq and
Myanmar at 1.3. Singapore ranked fourth in the world and first in Asia, followed
by Hong Kong at 12th, while Japan ranked 18th and Taiwan 39th. North Korea was
not on the list due to the lack of data.
The report also expressed concern over the abolition of the Korea Independent
Commission Against Corruption, a government watchdog that was merged with other
public monitoring organizations. It also noted mounting calls inside the Defense
Ministry to abolish the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the defense
procurement watchdog, for which Korea was praised in the 2008 report.