Political Risk:
Low
Score:
75/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
75/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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The National Assembly has the power to review and pass bills proposed by the executive. However, it does not have the power to veto…
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The National Assembly does not approve defence policy and review major arms procurement on a regular basis. However, the National Defence Committee and the…
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South Korea has a democratic form of government based on the Constitution, which includes the separation of the legislative, executive and judicial powers. As…
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Q2
83/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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In South Korea, three parliamentary committees exist to exercise oversight of the defence and security sector. The National Defence Committee, the Intelligence Committee and…
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The membership of each committee consists of lawmakers who are elected politicians. It is difficult to say that all of the members are equipped…
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The three committees mentioned above carry out an annual parliamentary audit under the terms of the National Assembly Act and the Act on the…
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Parliamentary committees are divided into standing committees and special committees. The standing committees include the National Defence Committee, the Intelligence Committee and the Foreign…
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The National Defence Committee conducts a parliamentary audit on the current activities of the Ministry of National Defence, military and relevant government bodies on…
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Article 16 of the Act on the Inspection and Investigation of State Administration states that ministries should deal without delay with matters which are…
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Q3
75/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
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In South Korea, national defence policy is publicly discussed among the executive, lawmakers and public. Due to the defence and security environment in the…
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The Ministry of National Defence (MND) publishes the Defence White Paper twice a year to convey the overall defence policy, security environment and threats,…
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There are formal public consultations on defence policy, however, only limited defence policies, which are closely linked to the public, are debated in public…
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The MND proactively publishes documents on several aspects of defence policies and pending issues on its website. [4] [5]. However, a review of media…
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Q4
75/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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South Korean defence and security institutions are required to provide information to CSOs. According to Article 9 of the Official Information Disclosure Act, all…
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Although the freedom of expression of CSOs has increased under the current liberal administration, CSOs do not have complete access or freedom in some…
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As mentioned above, the current government began to seek CSOs’ engagement to tackle corruption within the defence and security sector through multiple programmes. However,…
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Q5
88/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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South Korea was the 11th largest exporter of major arms worldwide between 2014 to 2019, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).…
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The 44-country OECD Working Group on Bribery, which completed its Phase 4 evaluation of Korea’s implementation of its Convention, argues that “South Korea must…
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Q6
100/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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Due to the defence and security environment in the Korean peninsula, which has been divided into two countries for over a half-century, significant public…
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There is evidence showing the government’s engagement with the public through media briefings or conferences and open forums organised by the National Assembly. During…
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Q7
88/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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In September 2016, the South Korean government implemented the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act (ISG Act), which aims to tackle corruption in the public…
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After the ISG Act came into effect in the defence sector, people seemed to be discouraged from engaging in potentially corrupt activities. A senior…
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Q8
75/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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There are two main institutions to oversee and detect corrupt activities within the defence and security sector. The Board of Audit and Investigation of…
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The BAI and DAPA are not within the chain of command of the defence institutions. Although the BAI and DAPA are responsible for inspecting…
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While staff in the defence institutions understand the risk of corruption through anti-corruption training, the effectiveness of monitoring systems and staff’s expertise is highly…
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Q9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. Public trust in defence institutions remains very low in South Korea. According to the…
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Q10
83/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
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While the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission assesses corruption risks in public institutions, including the MND, it appears that the assessment does not focus…
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There is evidence of regular risk assessments conducted by the ACRC. Although the assessments do not clearly articulate risks for the ministry or armed…
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Although the MND’s 2018 Defence Statistic Annual Report states that “the results of the integrity index will be reflected in the future policy development”,…
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Defence Budgets
Q11
75/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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South Korea’s acquisition planning is conducted within clear policy statements such as the mid-term national defence plan. It contains potential defence purchases with a…
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The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) posts information on acqusition process in the “Prior Release of nformation” section on its website. It covers 88…
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Oversight of acquisition planning is provided by the National Defence Committee at the National Assembly. The committee assesses the mid-term national defence plan, but…
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Q12
88/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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The South Korean defence budget is transparent and key items of expenditure are listed on the Ministry of National Defence’s website, which contains information…
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Every year the South Korean government submits the defence budget proposal approved by the President to the National Assembly 120 days before the start…
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Q13
100/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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The National Defence Committee and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts at the National Assembly have formal rights to scrutinise the defence budget.…
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The defence budget is first reviewed and amended by the National Defence Committee and then forwarded to the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts…
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Q14
83/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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The media and civil society, including the general public, can access the approved government budget through Open Fiscal Data. This website is managed by…
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The media and civil society can access the budget by detail including military personnel expenses, military facility construction costs, military pension and soldier welfare…
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Defence and security institutions are required to provide information, including the defence budget, to citizens and the media. However, information requests are frequently declined…
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Q15
83/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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The Defence Statistics Annual Report discloses full information on defence income, including land and property rent, income generated by hospital operation, interest and penalties,…
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The Ministry of National Defence (MND) and relevant bodies are regularly audited for revenue and expenditure by the BAI, [1] and some results become…
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The media and CSOs occasionally report and scrutinise defence income. Media coverage from November 2018 includes information on defence income gained from property disposal.…
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Q16
50/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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Two internal audit units overseeing defence and military expenditures exist within the Ministry of National Defence (MND) and the Defence Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA).…
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The oversight mechanism for defence ministry expenditures functions on a regular basis. The parliamentary committee, the National Defence Committee, conducts an annual parliamentary audit…
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While the MND can be required to submit internal audit reports by the National Assembly, there is no legal obligation to provide these reports…
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There is not enough available information to score this indicator. Due to the limited access to internal audit reports, it is unclear whether the…
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Q17
69/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
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Two external auditing systems exist to oversee military defence expenditure. The National Defence Committee at the National Assembly is responsible for reviewing the military…
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The Board of Audit and Investigation of Korea (BAI) is an independent constitutional institution and has its own budget passed by parliament. Article 2…
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The audit reports published by the National Defence Committee and the BAI are made publicly online via Bill Information, a website run by the…
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There is limited information that shows the ministry’s efforts to reflect audit findings in practice. While the “2015 Report on the Result of Settlement…
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
67/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
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South Korea is poor in natural resources and is heavily dependent on importing fossil fuels from the Middle East. [1] Coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum,…
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There is no evidence in the MND’s 2018 Defence Statistic Annual Report and Public Finance of Korea 2019, which contains the defence income and…
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A review of media sources and interviews with defence experts suggest that there are no cases of individual defence personnel involved in businesses relating…
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This indicator has been marked not applicable as there is no evidence that South Korea’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses…
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This indicator has been marked Not Applicable, as there is no evidence that_x000D_ South Korea’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses…
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Organised Crime
Q19
63/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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For many years, no type of organised crime involving military personnel reported/ identified througfh media investigations or prosecution reports in South Korea. [1] [2]…
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According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), organised crime refers to “a group of three or more persons that was…
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Q20
42/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
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The South Korean Army, Navy and Air Force each have a military police force. They are responsible for investigating crimes and corruption related to…
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The independence of military policing functions is questionable. The military police units belong to the Army, Navy and Air Force and are commanded by…
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The effectiveness of the military policing system has been criticised by the media due to the possibility of undue influence in the decision-making process.…
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Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
63/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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The Intelligence Committee and Special Committee on Budget and Account at the National Assembly are responsible for scrutinising the budget, administration and policies of…
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A chief of staff from the Intelligence Committee said that the NIS is the most privileged government institution and its privilege is protected by…
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Q22
33/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
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The director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) is appointed by the President under the terms of the National Intelligence Service Act. [1] The…
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As mentioned above, the director of the NIS is appointed by the President without objective selection criteria [1]. The interview with senior staff from…
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The personnel hearing conducted by the National Assembly is a process through which the candidates’ suitability is screened publicly. No vote is required to…
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Export Controls
Q23
67/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
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According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, South Korea signed up to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in June 2013 and ratified it in…
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Article 24.3 of the Foreign Trade Act prescribes that the government can revoke the export permission if changes arise in international situations, including war…
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Article 24.3 of the Foreign Trade Act prescribes that the government can revoke the export permission if changes arise in international situations, including war…
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Lobbying in Defence
South Korea has a legal framework that prohibits all types of lobbying, including in the defence sector, under the terms of the Attorney-At-Law Act.…
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This indicator is marked Not Applicable because lobbying in South Korea is completely prohibited. [1] [2] [3] [4]
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This indicator is marked Not Applicable because lobbying in South Korea is legally prohibited. [1] [2]
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This indicator is marked Not Applicable because lobbying in South Korea is illegal. [1]
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