• ACRC and UNDP successfully conclude ‘Korea-UNDP International Anti-Corruption Forum’, convening anti-corruption experts from partner countries of the ‘SDG Partnerships’ programme, international organizations, civil society, the private sector, and academia
• Forum highlights the impact of Korea’s anti-corruption technical cooperation efforts and the strengths of Korea’s anti-corruption model, while charting next-generation anti-corruption strategies for a rapidly changing global policy environment

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (Chairperson Jung Il-yeon, hereafter “ACRC”) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Seoul Policy Centre (Director Anne Juepner) jointly held the “Korea-UNDP International Anti-Corruption Forum” over two days, from 2 to 3 July.

Participating global experts and anti-corruption practitioners highlighted the achievements of countries that learned from and localized the Republic of Korea’s anti-corruption policies and systems through the ‘SDG Partnership’ anti-corruption technical cooperation Project programme* led by ACRC and UNDP, and discussed the direction and vision for sustainable anti-corruption strategies and integrity governance amid a rapidly changing global environment.

* ‘SDG Partnerships programme’ anti-corruption technical cooperation programme: A UNDP programme jointly carried out with ACRC  since the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 2015, and supported by Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It provides technical advisory services, policy consulting, and capacity-building to help developing countries localize and apply Korea’s anti-corruption systems.

The participants identified five next-generation anti-corruption strategies to serve as a milestone for each country’s anti-corruption efforts: ▲moving from initial reforms to deep institutionalization, ▲accelerating and scaling progress through peer-learning and South-South and Triangular Cooperation* (SSTC), ▲harnessing AI and digital innovations with robust, trust-building safeguards, ▲building inclusive integrity ecosystems to leave no one behind, and ▲strengthening partnerships for sustainable impact.

* South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC): A cooperation framework in which a third party — such as a developed country or international organization — provides funding, technology, and know-how to promote cooperation among developing countries, thereby enhancing effective and sustainable cooperation.

Building on the strategies drawn from this event,  ACRC and UNDP reaffirmed their commitment to serve as a powerful global catalyst for transparency, accountability, and sustainable development.

Held over two days, the event addressed cross-cutting anti-corruption efforts in depth — from building solid legal foundations and embracing digital innovation to promoting ethical business practices in the private sector — and served as a forum for South-South cooperation and exchange.

At the opening ceremony held on 2 July, ACRC Chairperson Jung Il-yeon stated that “our cooperation, which began as knowledge exchange, has evolved into a dynamic learning network in which one success story spreads to become a solution for other countries,” emphasizing the potential for global expansion of ACRC’s technical cooperation with UNDP under the SDG Partnership programme.

Former ACRC Chairperson Kim Young-ran, who made a significant contribution to the legislative process of Korea’s Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, delivered a powerful keynote message that “integrity is not a luxury afforded to advanced countries, but an indispensable condition for becoming one,” stressing that sustainable growth is only possible on a foundation of transparency and public trust.

Participating countries vividly demonstrated how Korea’s anti-corruption model and technical cooperation framework are being applied on the ground.

Montenegro, which has adopted the Comprehensive Integrity Assessment of public institutions, highlighted the role of integrity managers as key agents of change, while Sri Lanka placed the institutionalization of Internal Affairs Units at the center of its integrity assessment system. Uzbekistan, which introduced the Clean Portal, demonstrated that digital tools are most effective when backed by institutional reform.

Tajikistan is introducing a whistleblower protection and reward system, inspired by Uzbekistan’s experience of adopting a comprehensive Korea-inspired anti-corruption model combining both the Clean Portal and the Comprehensive Integrity Assessment of public institutions, and taking a systematic approach to corruption prevention and whistleblower protection alike.

A range of stakeholders — including national anti-corruption agencies, private companies, civil society organizations, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the World Bank Group — engaged in active discussion on the need to promote diverse partnerships to combat corruption and on strategies for responding to digital transformation in building clean governance.

Furthermore, governance expert Dr. Daniel Kaufmann*, Co-founder and President Emeritus of the Natural Resource Governance Institute, reiterated the importance of the ACRC and UNDP’s role in the SDG Partnership Programme against the backdrop of an evolving anti-corruption and institutional reform landscape.

* An economist and expert in governance and anti-corruption who devised the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI), which quantify countries’ institutional quality.

Dr. Anne Juepner, Director of the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre stated, “We remain committed to strengthening the SDG Partnerships programme as a platform for cooperation, knowledge exchange, and practical solutions that respond to countries’ priorities and needs.”

ACRC Chairperson Jung Il-yeon stated, “Building on the discussions and strategies that emerged from this forum, we will do our utmost to support partner countries’ substantive efforts to combat corruption and to help Korea move forward as a global leader in the fight against corruption.”