The Only Basic District-Level Local Government Nationwide
Zero Incidents of Corruption Experience
Gwangjin District in Seoul (headed by Mayor Kim Kyungho) has received a first-grade rating for the third consecutive year in the 2025 Comprehensive Integrity Assessment for Public Institutions, organized by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.
The Comprehensive Integrity Assessment evaluates public institutions on a five-grade scale, from Grade 1 to Grade 5, based on three key indicators: "perceived integrity," which measures the perception and experience of corruption among civil petitioners and employees; "integrity efforts," which reflects anti-corruption initiatives; and an overall assessment of the current state of corruption.
Kim Kyungho, Mayor of Gwangjin District. Provided by Gwangjin District Office.
In this year’s assessment, which covered 709 institutions nationwide, Gwangjin District was the only basic-level district among 235 local governments to receive a first-grade rating. Out of all 709 public institutions, only two have received a first-grade rating for three consecutive years, making this achievement particularly significant.
Since its establishment in 2023, the district received its first-ever first-grade rating in the Comprehensive Integrity Assessment. Last year, it was among only 10 institutions out of 243 local governments nationwide to achieve the top grade. By earning the first-grade rating again this year, Gwangjin District has further solidified its position as a leading institution in integrity.
The district also performed well in the external perception assessment. A survey of over 3,000 civil petitioners in areas such as permits, subsidies, finance and taxation, contracts, and management found that none of the 318 respondents reported any experience with corruption, such as receiving money, gifts, meals, golf outings, or travel for personal benefit. The corruption experience rate has remained at zero for four consecutive years.
The district has fostered a culture of integrity through the active participation of its employees. In March of this year, it held an Integrity Declaration Ceremony, establishing "fairness, honesty, responsibility, and action" as core values. Employees also produced and shared a four-part "Building an Integrity-Driven Organizational Culture Shorts Series." In September, the district operated the "Integrity Festa" for a month, with participation from all employees.
On the institutional side, the district identified seven new risk indicators, including permit-related risks, for the "Gwangjin District Corruption Risk Map" to systematically manage corruption vulnerabilities across all operations. It also implemented the "Anti-Corruption Clean Guardians" system to strengthen field-based practices and inspections.
Since taking office, Mayor Kim Kyungho has made integrity a core value in district administration, promoting continuous integrity education and communication with residents. These efforts have resulted in a perfect score for "leadership interest and effort" for three consecutive years. The internal perception score among employees rose by 14 points compared to the previous year, exceeding the average for basic local governments by 11 points.
Mayor Kim Kyungho stated, "This first-grade integrity achievement is the result of the interest of our residents and the dedication of our employees. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed. We will continue to do our best to realize an administration that earns the trust of our residents."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
