GIST Achieves Grade 3 in Overall Integrity with Institutional Improvements

Integrity Effort Indicator Rises Two Grades to Level 2

GIST Panorama.

The Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) announced on December 24 that it received a Grade 3 in the overall integrity assessment for national and public universities in the "2025 Comprehensive Integrity Evaluation of Public Institutions" conducted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, marking an improvement of one grade compared to the 2023 evaluation.

In this evaluation, GIST achieved a Grade 2 in the "Integrity Effort" indicator, which assesses anti-corruption initiatives and institutional improvement outcomes, representing a two-grade increase from the previous assessment. This result demonstrates that the university's integrity policies have directly contributed to improvements in the evaluation indicators.

The most significant achievement for GIST in this evaluation was the clear improvement in the Integrity Effort indicator, which led to an overall rise in the integrity grade. Among the detailed evaluation items in the Integrity Effort category, GIST scored 8.4 points higher than the national average for public universities in the area of "Leadership Interest and Effort." This suggests that integrity policies led by key executives have been firmly established throughout the organization.

After receiving a Grade 4 in the overall integrity assessment in 2023, GIST's president has personally inspected integrity-related issues and comprehensively reorganized policies and implementation systems. These changes resulted in an improved overall grade in this year's evaluation.

To address areas vulnerable to corruption, GIST has continuously implemented measures such as: ▲ inspections of integrity initiatives led by the president ▲ restructuring of integrity and anti-corruption systems ▲ expanding tailored integrity education for all members ▲ participatory integrity campaigns and intensive integrity weeks ▲ and corruption prevention activities through institutional and procedural improvements.

As a result of these efforts, GIST was also highlighted as a best practice case in the field of anti-corruption and integrity promotion systems. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission recognized GIST's systematic establishment and operation of anti-corruption and integrity promotion systems, such as the "GIST Integrity Improvement Special Committee" chaired by the president, the integrity improvement working council, the integrity promotion team, and the integrity advisory group comprising representatives of faculty, researchers, staff, and students.

President Lim Gicheol stated, "This is the first comprehensive integrity evaluation since I took office, and above all, the two-grade improvement in the Integrity Effort indicator compared to the previous assessment is the result of the collective efforts of all our members." He added, "It is meaningful that our consistent efforts to make integrity a core value, improve systems, and conduct on-site inspections have been recognized with significant results in this evaluation."