Announcement by the Government Joint Anti-Corruption Promotion Team of the Office for Government Policy Coordination
Kim Young-nam, Director of the Government Joint Anti-Corruption Promotion Team at the Office for Government Policy Coordination, is announcing the selection results of five excellent cases of institutional improvements after anti-corruption inspections at the briefing room of the Government Complex Seoul on February 9, 2021. Photo by Yonhap News
[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] The Government Joint Anti-Corruption Promotion Team of the Office for Government Policy Coordination announced on the 9th that it selected "Kindergarten and Daycare System Improvement" as an outstanding task following an evaluation of institutional improvement measures implemented to prevent corruption and block misconduct.
Kim Young-nam, Director of the Government Joint Anti-Corruption Promotion Team at the Office for Government Policy Coordination, held a joint briefing at the Government Seoul Office that morning and said, "After inspecting the operation status of kindergartens and daycare centers, institutional improvements were made to enhance the transparency and public nature of early childhood education."
Director Kim stated, "As demands for transparency and accountability in the financial management of childcare and educational institutions increased, inspections were conducted on 95 kindergartens and daycare centers, uncovering 609 violations in 91 facilities, including private use of school funds, and improper use amounting to 20.5 billion KRW (violations of the Private School Act, Early Childhood Education Act, and School Meals Act)." He added, "This led to the amendment of the three kindergarten-related laws, including the establishment of penalty provisions for private use of kindergarten funds, laying the foundation for transparency and publicness in early childhood education." He further noted, "Private kindergartens are now required to use 'Edufine' (an accounting management information system), establishing a sound financial accounting management system."
The Anti-Corruption Promotion Team selects blind spots in corruption annually and conducts joint inspections with ministries. The selection of outstanding institutional improvement tasks this time involved reviewing 36 cases announced over the past four years since 2017, focusing on the implementation status of follow-up measures after inspections and the tangible effects of institutional improvements felt by the public. The main evaluation criteria included ▲prevention of budget waste through enhanced project transparency ▲improvement of public convenience ▲strengthening of public safety. External experts, including members from the Anti-Corruption Policy Society, participated in the evaluation panel.
In addition to the operation status of kindergartens and daycare centers, the five outstanding implementation tasks selected were ▲improvements in the operation of health insurance for foreigners and overseas Koreans ▲improvements in the execution of government support funds for national research and development projects ▲improvements in the promotion of land development projects such as industrial complexes ▲improvements in the precision safety inspection system for facilities, totaling five tasks.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said, "Starting work is difficult, but correcting one's own mistakes is even harder," and praised, "These cases are exemplary of proactive administration that boldly breaks away from the complacency of leaving wrong practices as they are." He added, "Going forward, administration must continuously reflect on work practices and pursue desirable improvement directions," urging ongoing institutional improvements and anti-corruption efforts.
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