ACRC Says Korea’s Anti-Corruption Model Is Helping Sri Lanka Reform Its Public Sector

SEOUL, South Korea (News 1st): The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission of Korea says its anti-corruption policies are now contributing to reform efforts around the world, including in Sri Lanka, as Seoul hosts a major international forum on integrity and public-sector reform. ACRC Chairperson Jung Il Yeon told News 1st’s Zufick Farzan exclusively at the Korea-UNDP International Anti-Corruption Forum on Thursday that he was glad the commission’s efforts and policies are helping anti-corruption work globally, including in Sri Lanka. The two-day International Anti-Corruption Forum, co-hosted by the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre and the ACRC, is being held in Seoul from July 2 to 3.The forum marks a decade of anti-corruption partnerships and technical assistance, and it is designed to compile the concrete achievements of that work while also exploring future strategies in a changing global environment shaped by artificial intelligence and new governance challenges.Sri Lanka is one of the 14 partner countries highlighted in the ACRC’s anti-corruption technical assistance programme. The ACRC says the programme has transferred major Korean anti-corruption systems to partner countries, including the Comprehensive Integrity Efforts Assessment of Public Institutions, the Corruption Risk Assessment, the Clean Portal, and the Whistleblower Protection and Reward System. Sri Lanka is listed among the countries where the Integrity Efforts Assessment has been reflected in the national anti-corruption strategy, with a dedicated Integrity Assessment Unit mandated and related training expanded. The Sri Lanka case is developed further in the forum’s compendium. It says the country’s SDG Partnership on Integrity Efforts Assessment ran from 2023 to 2025 with a budget of USD 100,000, working with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, or CIABOC. The project established and piloted a national integrity benchmarking system by adapting Korea’s Integrity Efforts Assessment to the Sri Lankan context, and it was institutionalized through a Presidential Circular that created Internal Affairs Units across 106 public institutions to lead the assessments.