1. The Foreign Ministry, together with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Republic of Korea’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), will host The 2015 Seoul Debate themed “Lessons learnt on Anti-corruption from Korea and around the World” in Seoul on January 29 and 30. At the meeting, 80-odd anti-corruption experts from home and abroad will engage in in-depth discussions on the topic.

2. With anti-corruption emerging as an important issue in the field of development, the meeting has been organized for the ROK and other countries to share exemplary cases of eradicating corruption and to discuss ways to establish effective anti-corruption strategies and policies.

◦ Corruption is an international issue that triggers human rights violations; inequality; and an increase in poverty. Anti-corruption projects are key international projects for development cooperation designed to seek effective use of development resources and overall social development. To that end, the project will assist developing countries in building transparent government systems, making or amending relevant laws, and setting relevant policies.

3. The 2015 Seoul Debate will come as part of projects for the Development Solutions Partnerships (DSPs), which the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre will start from 2015 with the support of the ROK Foreign Ministry. It is expected to serve as an opportunity for the ROK to share its development experience in the anti-corruption area, and thereby expand the scope of experience-sharing beyond the economic development to include political and social development.

4. The forthcoming meeting will bring together prominent experts on anti-corruption from home and abroad for international discussions on anti-corruption. Among the attendees will be Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs Shin Dong-ik of the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the ACRC’s Vice Chairperson Kwak Jin-young; UN Assistant Secretary-General Haoliang Xu; high-level officials of such developing countries as Uganda, Indonesia, and Uzbekistan; and delegates from international organizations, including the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Transparency International (TI) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as well as civic groups. 


                Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation