Transparency International Announces '2020 Corruption Perceptions Index by Country'
Climbed 18 Places in the Past 3 Years
[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] South Korea's national integrity ranking placed 33rd out of 180 countries worldwide. This marks a consistent rise of 6 places each year over the past three years (51→45→39→33rd).
Among the 37 OECD countries, South Korea ranked 23rd, climbing 4 places within one year.
According to the '2020 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)' released on the 28th (local time) by Transparency International (TI), headquartered in Berlin, Germany, South Korea scored 61 out of 100 points, ranking 33rd among 180 countries.
The joint first place among the evaluated countries was held by Denmark and New Zealand (88 points), as in the previous year.
Finland, Singapore, Sweden, and Switzerland (85 points) followed in a joint third place.
In Asia, besides Singapore, Hong Kong (77 points, 11th) and Japan (74 points, 19th) consistently ranked in the upper tier.
Countries from Northern Europe, Western Europe, and Oceania generally occupied the top ranks, while the lowest ranks included Somalia and South Sudan (12 points, joint 179th), and Syria (14 points, 178th). North Korea ranked 170th with 18 points, alongside the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Haiti.
The Corruption Perceptions Index, which gauges national integrity, is an indicator converted to a 100-point scale based on experts' perceptions of corruption in the public sector. Scores in the 70s are evaluated as 'a generally transparent society,' while scores in the 50s are interpreted as 'a degree free from absolute corruption.'
Source data for calculating the CPI scores were provided by international organizations such as the Bertelsmann Foundation, World Economic Forum, Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, and Political Risk Services Group.
The rise in South Korea's CPI in 2020 is attributed to improvements in detailed indicators such as the Bertelsmann Foundation's Sustainable Governance Indicators (SGI; 62→70 points), which assess the prevention of public officials' abuse of power for private gain; the Political Risk Services Group's Political Risk Index (PRS; 54→62 points), which evaluates political corruption including collusion between politics and business; and the International Institute for Management Development's (IMD) International Competitiveness Index (54→57 points), which assesses corruption and bribery.
However, compared to OECD countries, South Korea's overall corruption level (PERC) and bribery practices in public resource management (EIU) were significantly below average. PERC showed a 13-point gap from the average, and EIU showed a 12.4-point difference. The PRS score, which measures political corruption, had stagnated since 2012 but has been rising since 2019; however, it remains 6.1 points below the OECD average.
The Korean chapter of TI, the Korea Transparency Organization, stated, "The recent rise in integrity is clearly evident and can be interpreted as the result of efforts by the government and society overall following the Candlelight Movement," but also noted, "Corruption at the frontline of public service related to everyday economic activities has not significantly improved recently and in some cases has worsened."
They added, "Efforts by the government and society to spread anti-corruption and integrity policies throughout society are necessary," and "Companies must also improve governance and strengthen internal anti-corruption systems to ensure the effectiveness of compliance and ethical management."
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