[Interview] Kim Kyung-ho, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, "Proud of Achieving Top Integrity Grade for Two Consecutive Years"

Kim Kyung-ho, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu,
“Achieving Grade 1 in Integrity Evaluation for Two Consecutive Years Is a Result of Trust and Effort”
Continuous Innovation and Communication Lead to Top Integrity Grade
Aiming for Three Consecutive Years of Grade 1 with Resident and Employee Participation

"We are very pleased to have achieved the highest grade of 1 in the integrity evaluation, which is difficult to attain even once, for two consecutive years. I would like to express my gratitude to the residents who trusted the district administration and to the staff who worked hard to improve integrity."

Through an interview, Kim Kyung-ho, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, expressed these sentiments as Gwangjin-gu achieved the top grade for two consecutive years in the public institution integrity evaluation, in 2023 and 2024.

The "Comprehensive Integrity Evaluation of Public Institutions," conducted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, is a system introduced to eradicate corruption in the public sector and enhance integrity. It accurately diagnoses the level of integrity and corruption-prone areas for each public institution, providing basic data for effective anti-corruption strategies. Based on this, institutions are supported to autonomously improve their integrity.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission evaluates comprehensive integrity on a scale from grade 1 to grade 5 by combining the "Integrity Perception," which measures corruption awareness and experience among civil petitioners and employees, the "Integrity Effort," which measures anti-corruption performance, and the current status of corruption. Simply put, it asks residents and employees whether the institution is honest, and the results are directly reflected in the evaluation.

Gwangjin-gu's integrity had remained between grades 3 and 5 until now. Fundamental changes were needed to improve integrity. Since the 8th local government term, Mayor Kim Kyung-ho has pledged to "improve integrity across all district administration." Emphasizing that "integrity and kindness are two sides of the same coin," he devoted all his efforts to raising integrity. At the start of the 8th term, the grade jumped to 2. This was the result of acquiring kindness and integrity based on professional expertise and making multifaceted efforts. In 2023, Gwangjin-gu achieved grade 1 for the first time. Thorough analysis of corruption-prone factors and the implementation of anti-corruption projects such as self-purification resolution meetings, anti-corruption integrity vision keepers, and public finance recovery education were effective.

To maintain the achievements, continuous deliberation was made. Mayor Kim Kyung-ho personally proposed integrity policies and actively supported them with budget and manpower to ensure their implementation. He also prepared integrity lectures and broadcast materials himself, showing a strong will for "Integrity Grade 1." Using the "Gwangjin-gu Corruption Risk Map," developed for the first time by a basic local government, he proactively responded to corruption vulnerabilities. Through continuous communication such as Integrity Live Concerts and Integrity Praise Relays, he took the lead in creating a fair and sound workplace culture.

Mayor Kim Kyung-ho said, "Only six out of 716 public institutions achieved grade 1 in the comprehensive integrity evaluation for two consecutive years. Especially, it is significant that we received a perfect score in the 'Interest and Effort of the Head of Institution' category and zero in the 'Experience Rate of Bribery and Entertainment' category for three consecutive years."

This year, the "Integrity Gwangjin" is also sailing smoothly. They are moving quickly by distributing a standard declaration of integrity, visiting employees to introduce integrity policies, and guiding personnel and welfare policies. They have established sector-specific plans such as ▲establishing an anti-corruption communication system ▲improving systems in corruption-prone areas ▲strengthening anti-corruption systems ▲and establishing an integrity public service culture, aiming to accelerate the achievement of "three consecutive years of grade 1 in the integrity evaluation."

Mayor Kim Kyung-ho said, "We will continue to reflect the honest voices of residents and employees in district administration and definitely achieve grade 1 in the integrity evaluation for three consecutive years."