Collusion between politicians and the wealthy is rampant.

Personal ties, kickbacks and lobbying for tax breaks are also deeply embedded in the

Korean society.

In recent months... high profile corruption cases involving Korea's largest conglomerates

have rocked the nation bringing the issue of corruption... once again... firmly under

the spotlight.

President Park Geun-hye has vowed to root out corruption in order to create a fair and

clean society. To walk us through how Korea is trying to tackle corruption... we have

our Ji Myung-kil joining us this evening. Good evening to you, Myung-kil... so it sounds

bad... but is this country that corrupt?

Well, most people do agree that Korea needs to make a serious effort to tackle the problem.

According to an international survey this year... Korea is the most corrupt developed

country in Asia. This was based on a survey on 2-thousand foreign businessmen living on

the continent. <0807 PS1 >

Hong Kong-based firm... Political and Economic Risk Consultancy ranked Korea the tenth most

corrupt out of 17 countries in Asia. The corruption index was just shy of seven this year... the

worst in 10-years. Now this is twice as corrupt as Singapore

and worse than Malaysia and Thailand. Let's hear what Koreans think about corruption

in Korea.

<0807 NS1 >

"Corruption in Korea is very serious... I think it'll never go away in my lifetime."

"Korea should quickly enact an anti-corruption bill to eradicate corruption."

Title: Korea's corruption problem

What are the main causes of corruption in Korea?

Well, experts say the main issue is collusion between government officials and Korea's big

conglomerates. <0807 PS2 >

Since conglomerates exert a great deal of power over Korea's economy... tax evasion,

embezzling slush funds, and asking for favors in exchange for bribes have become prevalent

in Korean society. Also, light punishment for those convicted

of corruption is a major contributing factor.

<0807 PS3 > "If we committed crimes... I'm sure we would

have to spend the rest of our lives in prison. Money talks too much in Korea. Presidential

pardons should not be allowed... everybody should be equal infront of the law... whether

they are wealthy or not."

The expert said another cause of corruption is that Korea does not protect whistle-blowers.

According to a survey by the non-governmental agency... Transparency International Korea

in June... 4 out of 10 young Koreans said they would not report corruption to the authorities

out of skepticism of the law's effectiveness or for the fear of reprisal.

<0807 NS2 > Fifty-five percent said they would report

irregularities, 33 percent said it depends on each case, 8 percent said they would never

report it. Of the respondents, only 4 percent said they

had reported a case of corruption before.

Title: Korea's corruption problem

It's often said that corruption undermines economic development.

Myung-kil, explain to us why that is the case.

Bribery and corruption hinder fair competition and sap economic vitality out of a country.

Experts say its not just an ethical moral issue, they say its directly connected with

the people's livelihoods.

<0807 NS3 > "Nigeria produces a lot of oil. If the government

was not corrupt, the country could share the wealth from the oil and the people could live

affluent lives. But as we can see, a few people control all the wealth through corrupt activities."

Kim also added if the corruption perception index drops by one point... the gross domestic

product or GDP per capita rises by 2-point-6 percent... and he pointed out that Singapore's

economic growth miracle was made possible by its no-nonsense approach to tackling corruption.

Title: Korea's corruption problem

What is the Korean government trying to do to stamp out corruption?

Well the Cabinet last week approved Korea's first anti-corruption bill in order to strengthen

punishment for government officials involved in irregularities as part of efforts to root

out corruption in the public sector.

<0807 NS4 >

"We believe the anti-corruption bill will prevent public officials from accepting illegal

favors, kickbacks and carrying out duties related to their personal interests. The bill

will help raise the Korean government's integrity."

If officials receive bribes related to work then they could face criminal charges but

if the bribes are out of their work duties they could face fines of up to five times

the kickbacks received. The legislation will be submitted to the National

Assembly for a vote this month.

Hopefully this administration will be successful in carrying out its campaign pledge of rooting

out corruption in this country, once and for all.

All right. Thank-you Myung-kil for that in-depth report on Korea's drive to tackle corruption.

Sure.