The profile and detection of bribery in South Korea

Abstract Bribery, including its various forms such as political contributions and gift-giving in return for favourable treatment in government tenders, present a challenge for law enforcement authorities around the world. While bribery undermines the well-being of people, the rule of law, and harms market competition around the globe, the vast majority of white-collar-crime research is Western focused. This paper is the first significant analysis of the profile and detection of bribery involving perpetrators convicted in South Korea. Based upon a sample of 174 cases involving 198 convicted individuals collected through searches of the media and other relevant sources, we explore the profile of both bribe payers and bribe takers. The paper finds that South Korean prosecuted bribers are predominantly male public administrators involved in cases with the monetary value associated with bribery within the $10,000 to $99,999 range. The South Korea policing authorities predominantly focus on policing bribery of their public administrators and there is only limited evidence that they are able to do the same on the supply side of bribery, and against their own corporations. Unlike in other countries such as the UK and Norway, the South Korean enforcement landscape is associated with higher prison sentences and monetary sanctions, and a high degree of secrecy with laws mandating a rapid destruction of case files, and therefore a very limited publicly accessible information about the detection source. The paper contributes to the economic criminology literature by offering insights into the characteristics of bribery in South Korea and South Korean anti-bribery response in a rarely researched area.