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APEC 반부패투명성 심포지엄 개회식 축사<영문>

  • 작성자 : 김진옥
  • 등록일 : 2009.09.17
  • 조회수 : 3315
Acting Chairman Park In-je of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission,
Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning. I am very pleased to speak to you on the occasion of the 2009 APEC Anti-Corruption and Transparency Symposium. I would like to thank the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission for their kind invitation.

On behalf of the government of the Republic of Korea, I would like to extend my warmest welcome to all of you, particularly to those foreign participants who have made a long journey to Korea for this meaningful event.

For the next two days, officials and experts on anti-corruption from both APEC member countries and international organizations will sit together to discuss and exchange ideas on the "systematic approach to building anti-corruption capacity," the theme of this year's conference. I am confident that your valuable presentations will greatly contribute to our collective efforts to eradicate corruption and build a more transparent society.

Distinguished participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Corruption prevention along with environmental protection have been and continue to be two major issues most talked about in international conferences since the 1990s. In fact, these two agenda are similar in several ways. Just as pollution threatens biodiversity and degrades our environment, corruption undermines democracy and rule of law and distorts our markets. Likewise, just as our planet earth is no longer able to bear the effects of climate change, the global community, too, should no longer tolerate corruption in our societies.

By fighting against pollution and corruption we will be able to move a step closer to making our natural and social world cleaner and a better place to live in.

If in the past, national productivity were driven by factors such as physical and human capital, today as societies shift from quantitative to qualitative development paradigm, social capital, that is connectiveness and the degree of confidence within and between social networks, is becoming increasingly important in bringing about economic growth and welfare.

According to the World Bank, the percentage of social capital that contributes to the creation of national wealth is 81% in developed countries and 50% in developing countries. As such, social capital is playing an increasingly larger role in determining national competitiveness and stimulating economic development. It is against this backdrop that the international community is focusing on anti-corruption efforts since the most effective strategy for nurturing and fostering social capital is to prevent corruption.

Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Corruption is a major obstacle to social and economic development. Not only does it aggravate social inequality by distorting resource distribution and thereby deepening the gap between the haves and have-nots, corruption also increases environmental costs through inefficient and reckless development. Illegal behavior undermines trust and confidence among people, ultimately resulting in the disintegration of our communities.

The effects of corruption are indeed far-reaching, adversely affecting every aspect of our lives. It is therefore our shared responsibility to prevent corruption.

Recognizing the importance of collective action in promoting anti-corruption measures, the international community has been working together to explore various ways to build a corruption-free world.

These efforts came to fruition in 2003 when countries around the globe agreed on the UN Convention against Corruption thereby producing a legally binding international anti-corruption instrument. Signed by 140 governments to date, the Convention places particular emphasis on the need for international technical support to build anti-corruption capacities.

The Korean government fully supports and is actively involved in the on-going international anti-corruption efforts. We have hosted the International Anti-Corruption Conference, APEC Anti-Corruption Taskforce Meeting in 2004 and 2005 respectively and also the 2005 APEC Anti-Corruption and Transparency Symposium here in Seoul. We have so far contributed an aggregate sum of 1 million US dollars to the UN Development Programme for anti-corruption technical support for developing countries.

At present, the Korean Government has set a foreign policy initiative for a truly Global Korea that fully contributes to international peace and prosperity. As part of the efforts to build an 'advanced and internationally respected' country, Korea will triple its official development assistance (ODA) by 2015, and more actively share our experience in development and anti-corruption efforts with the developing countries.

Distinguished participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,

In a short half century, Korea has achieved what no other nation ever has: the unprecedented economic advances and democratization with full protection of human rights. Eradicating corruption is a prerequisite to bring about a second leap forward, and the Korean government is exerting every effort towards this end.

Indeed, President Lee Myung-bak has emphasized on several occasions that Korea's second economic take-off will not be possible unless we uproot corruption in our society and expressed his strong determination to strictly penalize corrupt and illegal behavior.

I am convinced that great minds present here today will render unsparing support for Korea's and the world's ceaseless and unswerving efforts to eradicate corruption and make our future cleaner and more transparent.

In closing, I congratulate you on the opening of the 2009 APEC Anti-Corruption and Transparency Symposium. I have no doubt that this conference will be a great success, significantly contributing to taking our anti-corruption efforts to a higher-level and boosting further international cooperation among APEC member countries in this regard. And for our foreign guests, I most warmly welcome you once again and wish you all the best during your brief stay in Korea.

Thank you.