PACIFIC BASIN ECONOMIC COUNCIL
MAIN PAGE | CLIPS | 2000 | ANTI-CORRUPTION

Int'l Anti-Corruption Confab Opens in Seoul Korea to Host Global Forum III, 11th IACC in 2003 By Son Key-young The Korea Times Tuesday, December 12, 2000 Over 300 delegates from 35 countries opened a large-scale international conference yesterday, aimed at working out strategies to fight corruption in public and corporate sectors and, in particular, to set up a cooperative system among Asia-Pacific countries. The three-day Seoul Conference on Combating Corruption in the Asia-Pacific Region was jointly organized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in cooperation with such Korean government agencies as the Office for Government Policy Coordination and the Presidential Committee on Anti-Corruption. The conference, underway at the Convention and Exhibition Center (COEX) in southern Seoul, attracted over 300 government officials, members of civic organizations and representatives from international organizations. The conference consists of four sessions: taking stock of progress in fighting corruption, measures to prevent corruption-prone areas, developing corruption prevention strategies in business, and making anti-corruption actions work. "This conference will be a cornerstone event for larger-scale ones, scheduled in Seoul in the year 2001," said Park Key-chong, director general for inspection and investigation at the Office of the Prime Minister. In 2003, Seoul plans to host the joint meeting of the Global Forum III and the 11th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC), two large-scale events aimed at driving out corruption worldwide. Over 1,000 people from more than 140 countries are expected to show up at the 2003 conference in Seoul. The inaugural Global Forum on Fighting Corruption was hosted by U.S. Vice President Al Gore in Washington in February last year, with about 1,000 participants from nearly 100 countries attending. In May next year, the second Global Forum will be held in, The Hague, while the Seoul meeting, proposed by the United States and the Netherlands, will be the third event. Meanwhile, the IACC conferences, aimed at exchanging information and boosting cooperation among a growing number of organizations involved in anti-corruption work, have been overseen by the IACC Council and its secretariat, Transparency International. "In fact, the two conferences attracted almost the same delegations from each country, comprising those from governments, international organizations, civic organizations and others. Therefore, why not hold a joint conference," he said. Park said that the government wants to eradicate Korea's corruption in both officialdom and the private sector, timed with the target year of 2003, while publicizing Korea's strenuous anticorruption efforts to the international. community. Since its inauguration in February 1998, the Kim Dae-jung administration has steadily carried out anti-corruption activities in the belief that Seoul's efforts would help the international community build up trust in the nation's economic competitiveness. "The conferences are also designed to give the Korean people a clear picture of the government's efforts to drive out corruption," Park said. Out of 33 speakers at the conference, more than 10 are Koreans, said Park, adding that this conference will give them a chance to accumulate their experiences in preparation for the 2003 conferences. Among Korean participants are Vice Mayor of Seoul Kang Hongbin, Paek Kee-bong, prosecutor of the Justice Ministry, Yoo Bongahm, director for inspection at the National Police Agency, Kang Byung-tae, director-general for planning & management of the Public Procurement Service and Han Sang-yool, director of the task force for reform of tax administration at the National Tax Service. The day's session started with OECD Deputy Secretary-General Seiichi Kondo making opening remarks and minister for Government Policy Coordination Ahn Byoung-woo delivering a keynote address. John Lintjer, vice president and chairman of ADB's anti-corruption task force, made a presentation, titled, "Fighting Corruption in the Region." Prime Minister Lee Han-dong hosted a dinner for the participants. The Seoul conference is this year's annual meeting of the ADB/OECD forum for combating corruption in the Asia-Pacific region. The forum was created in October 1999 in Manila as a workshop of Asia-Pacific countries. Its objective is to put in place a framework for effectively combating corruption by identifying appropriate political, institutional, and other forms of reforms. The conference was organized in association with such partner institutions as the Department for International Development, the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation, the Pacific Basin Economic Council, the U.N. Development Program, the U.S. Agency for International. Development, Transparency International and the World Bank Group. The conference was also attended by such dignitaries as David Williams, U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA); Robert Lees, secretary-general of the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC); Tunku Abdul Aziz, vice chairman of the board of Transparency International; and Shoji Nishimoto, director of the ADB's strategy and policy department.