Gwangju Donggu Launches Integrity Promotion Task Force to Achieve Grade 1 Integrity

Exterior view of Gwangju Donggu District Office.

Gwangju Donggu District announced on May 2 that it has launched a full-scale operation of its Integrity Promotion Task Force this year, aiming to achieve the highest grade (Grade 1) in integrity and to build a transparent public service environment.

Recently, Donggu held the "2025 Integrity Donggu Task Force Meeting" to share this year's integrity evaluation strategies and action plans. The Integrity Donggu Task Force is led by District Mayor Lim Taek and consists of 51 members, including the deputy mayor, directors of bureaus and offices, and department heads. The task force plans to discuss the discovery of integrity initiatives for each department and ways to improve areas vulnerable to corruption.

Previously, Donggu received a Grade 2 in the integrity effort category in last year's comprehensive integrity evaluation, but its overall integrity rating was only Grade 3. In particular, the analysis indicated a need for measures to improve resident satisfaction in the external perception category.

Accordingly, this year, Donggu has set "zero corruption experience" as its goal. The district will pursue the achievement of Grade 1 integrity in 2025 by having all departments identify and implement integrity initiatives based on three main strategies?advancing the foundation for anti-corruption initiatives, fostering a trusted culture of integrity, and strengthening proactive corruption prevention?as well as eight specific action tasks.

In particular, the district plans to focus on managing areas vulnerable to corruption, such as contracts, subsidies, and permits. It also aims to create a culture of integrity in partnership with residents by operating integrity guardians in each department, strengthening the activities of citizen integrity auditors, and establishing an anonymous integrity reporting system.

Additionally, Donggu intends to improve its organizational culture by addressing the perception that passive administration and unkindness are unrelated to integrity, and by encouraging all employees to autonomously and actively practice the values of integrity.

District Mayor Lim Taek stated, "Integrity is not something to be displayed, but something that must permeate our work." He emphasized, "Beyond simply complying with regulations, every employee must make integrity a part of daily life through small actions and a responsible attitude. Plans must lead to execution, execution to change, and change to trust. We will earn the trust of our residents through genuine behavioral change."