A Study on Effective Legislative Measures for the Anti-Corruption Act

‘Corruption’ means the abuse of public power for private gain. Anti-corruption legislation can be said to be completed by prohibiting corruption-related activities and stipulating legal sanctions. However, our country's anti-corruption legislation is not a single law but is divided into several laws and is applied, making it difficult for the public to recognize corruption. In addition, it is also problematic to exclude the use of clear terms such as anti-corruption and use abstract terms such as sincerity. Legislative improvement measures, including solutions to these problems, are needed, and it is believed that legislating by consolidating the scattered anti-corruption regulations into a single law will ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of anti-corruption. Our country's anti-corruption system is centered around public officials and does not regulate corporate corruption, making it impossible to break the chain of corruption. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen national competitiveness by regulating corruption not only among public officials but also companies. In short, by enacting a unified anti-corruption law, the anti-corruption responsibilities of all actors, including the state, local governments, public organizations, corporations, and citizens, basic anti-corruption principles, anti-corruption policies, comprehensive anti-corruption plan and implementation plan, corruption risk assessment system, etc. In particular, it is considered more desirable to establish a presidential anti-corruption office and provide compulsory investigation rights, internal audit and public audit request systems, and stipulate penalties. In addition, the system to protect whistleblowers from being disadvantaged should be strengthened so that reports of corruption can be made more safely, and information disclosure by public institutions should be made mandatory and information accessibility should be increased so that the public can monitor the operation of public institutions. In addition, it will be necessary to thoroughly stipulate measures such as strengthening ethics education for public officials and strengthening punishment for corruption. Above all, for this legal system to function well, public interest and participation in preventing corruption will be important.