Agency runs 'Integrity Week' to raise anti-corruption awareness in public procurement
A push to strengthen integrity and spread an anti-corruption culture is gaining momentum in South Korea's public procurement sector.
The Public Procurement Service announced Monday it will run an internal "Integrity Week" from Monday through Sept. 11 to promote the values of integrity and fairness across the public sector and build a procurement culture that citizens and businesses can trust.
Key programs during the week include an anti-corruption steering committee meeting, a letter on integrity from the agency commissioner, a public integrity quiz event, and an agency-wide live integrity education session.
On Monday, Commissioner Baek Seung-bo will chair an anti-corruption steering committee meeting attended by senior civil servants to review progress on measures aimed at improving the agency's overall integrity rating — including efforts to address vulnerabilities to corruption — and to discuss further improvements.
On Tuesday, the commissioner's integrity letter will be posted through the agency's internal portal, the Narajangteo procurement platform, the Narajangteo shopping mall and the agency's official website, spreading a commitment to integrity both inside and outside the organization.
Also from Tuesday through Friday, the agency will hold a public "Integrity Quiz Event" through its official social media channels, including Instagram, with beverage vouchers awarded by lottery to participants who answer correctly.
On Wednesday, the agency will post a QR code on its internal portal linking to a self-diagnosis checklist on the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act, provided by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, so all staff can independently verify whether the law's 10 behavioral standards apply to their work.
On Thursday, the agency plans to hold a "Live Integrity Education" session — moving away from the conventional lecture-style format focused on laws and regulations toward a program built around performance and storytelling-based special lectures, with the aim of further strengthening employees' commitment to anti-corruption and integrity in their daily work.
"I hope this Integrity Week serves as an opportunity to reaffirm that integrity is the most fundamental value in maintaining the trust of citizens and procurement businesses in public procurement," Commissioner Baek said. "We will uphold fairness and principle without wavering under any circumstances, and continue to root out sources of unfairness and corruption to build a procurement administration that the public can rely on."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
