Gyeonggi Province Public Institutions' Comprehensive Integrity Score 8.55 Points in 2023...Gyeonggi Women and Family Foundation Ranks First

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gap-dong] Gyeonggi Province conducted the '2023 Gyeonggi Province Public Institutions Comprehensive Integrity Assessment' on 28 affiliated public institutions, and Gyeonggi Women and Family Foundation was found to have achieved Grade 1 following two consecutive years of Grade 2.

Grade 2 was given to Gyeonggi Tourism Organization, Gyeonggi Economic Science & Technology Promotion Agency, Gyeonggi Techno Park, Gyeonggi Research Institute, Next Generation Convergence Technology Research Institute, Gyeonggi Daejin Techno Park, and Gyeonggi Suwon World Cup Stadium Management Foundation. However, Korean Ceramic Foundation and Gyeonggi Environment & Energy Promotion Agency received Grade 5.

According to the province on the 7th, since 2015, Gyeonggi Province has been the first in the nation to conduct integrity assessments of affiliated public institutions through objective and fair evaluations to determine the integrity level of each institution and discover and improve corruption-vulnerable areas. The '2023 Gyeonggi Province Public Institutions Comprehensive Integrity Assessment' resulted in a comprehensive integrity score of 8.55 points (out of 10), which represents a 0.22-point decline from 8.77 points in 2022.

Last year, based on the size and characteristics of institutions, Group I institutions with 60 or more staff members and Group II institutions with fewer than 60 staff members underwent comprehensive integrity assessment, while Group IV institutions with fewer than 10 staff members or established within the past year underwent anti-corruption capability diagnosis. Group III institutions separately evaluated by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission were excluded from the province's integrity assessment.

The comprehensive integrity assessment was conducted by evaluating three categories: 'external perception,' evaluated by provincial residents who experienced administrative services; 'internal perception,' evaluated by internal staff; and 'integrity effort,' which evaluates each institution's anti-corruption efforts. Grades were assigned from the highest Grade 1 to the lowest Grade 5.

According to the assessment results, external perception scored 8.97 points, declining 0.47 points compared to the previous year, while internal perception scored 7.81 points, rising 0.31 points from the previous year. Integrity effort scored 8.59 points, declining 0.59 points compared to the previous year. Internal perception rose due to continuous anti-corruption efforts through implementation of anti-corruption and integrity education and organizational culture improvement among internal employees of public institutions. However, external perception, which is the result of evaluations from civil complaints, and integrity effort evaluation, which measures anti-corruption policy indicators, showed declines. The average comprehensive integrity score for all 28 institutions, including deduction items for corruption cases, is 8.55 points across the three evaluation categories.

A total of 4,800 provincial residents and 1,834 employees from institutions participated in the external and internal perception surveys. Both external and internal surveys have a 95% confidence level and a ±0.03%p margin of error.

The comprehensive integrity assessment results are scheduled to be reflected in the social responsibility (integrity) section of the 2024 public institutions management evaluation (for 2023 performance).

Choi Eun-soon, Auditor General of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "The comprehensive integrity assessment of public institutions is conducted to accurately diagnose the integrity level of each institution and corruption-vulnerable areas and to effectively promote anti-corruption policies." She added, "We will provide incentives based on the integrity assessment results of each institution, implement customized consulting for underperforming institutions, expand anti-corruption mentoring and private-public cooperation, and make efforts to meet the rising expectations of provincial residents regarding the integrity of civil servants."