Wiping Out Corruption

[Anchor Lead]

President Moon Jae-in announced his policy priority of wiping out corruption at the first anti-corruption policy meeting yesterday. The meeting was attended by chiefs of the Board of Audit and Inspection, the Prosecutors' Office, the National Police Agency, the National Tax Service and even the National Intelligence Service.

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The first meeting of the anti-corruption policy commission was held with the chiefs of audit-related departments and agencies in attendance. President Moon Jae-in blamed corruption among the powerful and the public sector for undermining Korea's integrity.

[Soundbite] Pres. Moon Jae-in : "They strangled people's lives with illegal and corrupt practices and used the people's tax money as if it were their own."

The president said that the eradication of corruption is the start of the new administration's policies and vowed to root out all corruption involving those in power. He added that no one is free from the efforts to wipe out corruption and promised that the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae will be the first one to set an example.

[Soundbite] Pres. Moon Jae-in : "I ask you to sternly carry forth these anti-corruption measures with the attitude of safeguarding the integrity of the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae and that is the start of eliminating corruption from Korea."

Each ministry presented anti-corruption strategies one after another. The Ministry of Justice reported that it will mete out harsher penalties for five major felonies and corruption cases with local ties, raise the sentencing standards, and thoroughly redeem all the ill-gotten gains from crimes. The Fair Trade Commission pledged to take stern actions against unfair corporate practices like abuse of power and collusion, while the Ministry of National Defense proposed a mandatory reporting system for defense contractors and wider employment restrictions on retired soldiers in order to stamp out corruption in the defense industry. President Moon emphasized that Korea's potential growth rate would rise when corruption is wiped out altogether, even in the private sector.